Always and Forever
by x0-vindicated-0x
Summary: We all make mistakes, and we all have to deal with the consequences. Four years after Derek makes the biggest mistake of his life, he finds himself struggling to discover what it is he really wants, and if he even deserves to have it. Dasey COMPLETE
1. What Once Was Our Life

**I started writing this before I even finished BCWYWF, but decided to wait until ToP was finished to post it. I was putting it off recently because of a bit of writer's block I had around future chapters, but I think it's okay now. This chapter is sort of short, mainly just a brief summary of their history. To clear it up, Casey and Derek are around twenty four in this fic. Future chapters will be much longer, this is just, essentially, a prologue. There is an alternating POV, but it will be clear who the chapter/section is revolved around. Without further interruption, the fic!**

**Disclaimer: Haven't had that big break yet, meaning I still own no TV shows, including this one.**

**Chapter One: What Once Was Our Life**

Casey was lying on the laminate flooring of her Toronto apartment, the sun pouring in through her living room window, casting rays of warmth across the floor. She had a photo albumn spread out in front of her, and she was flipping through it, studying each picture for a moment, before moving on, barely giving any of them any real thought. She smiled at a picture of her and Lizzie, when she had been sixteen and Lizzie had been twelve. They had been living with the Venturis by then. She flipped over the page, seeing a picture of her, Lizzie, Edwin, Marti and Derek, on Marti's eighth birthday. She only lingered for a moment on that one, before flipping the page again.

But when she caught sight of the next picture, she felt the familar drop that always seemed to take place in her stomach everytime she saw one of these painful reminders of her past. It was a picture of her at her high school graduation; to be more specific, her and her date. They both looked so happy, and were dressed up, wearing smiles that you could only get while having one of the best days of your life, and while being in the arms of someone who loved you, and of someone you loved. Casey smiled softly as she examined the long black dress she had been wearing, with white floral design running down the right side of the dress. Her hair had been curled into ringlets that fell down past her shoulders, while a butterfly clip pinned a section of hair back off of her face. She had been smiling one of the most real smiles she had ever worn in her entire lifetime. Maybe it was because high school was over with. Maybe it was because it was their graduation night. Or maybe it was because her boyfriend of two and a half years had been standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, his chin resting lightly on her shoulder. Her head had been leaned back against his, and they'd been smiling.

If someone had of told them moments before or after that photograph had been taken, that they weren't going to last much longer after that, they would have laughed in your face. They would have told you to get the facts straight; that they loved each other and that wasn't going to change. Hard as everyone tried, no one had ever understood their complex relationship. Nobody ever understood how they could always know that the other was thinking or feeling without even being in the same room. They were in their own little world. They were in love, and nothing that anybody said or did could change that.

But something had changed that. Something had finally torn down the barrier that seperated them from the world. After a four year relationship, they had called everything off. They had never explained the full story to everyone. They had let a few select people know the real reason behind their breakup, but most people were still clueless as to why they had ended such an amazing relationship after such a long time. They had told most people that they had 'grown apart' , and while no one really believed this, they had grown to accept this answer, knowing that they were never going to get the truth out of them. The truth was that they hadn't wanted to go into the truth with everyone. The truth was that the breakup had been bitter. It had involved a lot of cruel words, a lot of tears, and a lot of yelling, on both behalfs. The truth was too painful to talk about, even four years after they had broken up.

Casey sighed and ran her thumb across the photograph, before closing the photo album sadly. She would never quite get over everything that had happened. Although she tried to limit the amount of times she saw her ex, it was difficult to avoid. Their paths crossed at least a couple of times a year. It was unavoidable. They tried to remain civil with each other, for the sake of those around them, but they both knew that it was best not to speak at all, for fear of an argument breaking out. It was amazing how such a powerful love had turned into such a strained and bitter relationship. Everytime she allowed herself to remember him, and remember their relationship, she had to wonder where they would have been today, had things gone differently.

As she replaced the photo album in her box of old belongings, she pulled out a small black velvet box. It was a bit dusty, but she blew the dust off, coughing slightly. She opened up the box to reveal something that she still couldn't bring herself to throw away. The diamond engagement ring that Derek had given her still looked as new as it had four and a half years ago. She took the ring out and twirled it between her pointer finger and her middle finger, sighing. Flipping the ring over, she glanced at the enscription that etched on the inside of the ring in cursive. The lettering was small, because there had been a lot to fit, but she could still read it perfectly fine.

_'Love Overpowers Everything'_

She remembered Derek's exact words when he had slipped that ring on her finger, shortly after she had accepted his proposal.

_'It's a good thing I love you so much, because this ring is a promise of forever," _he had told her with a tiny smile on his face. She had believed his words back then. She had honestly thought that he was ready for a commitment like that. She mentally slapped herself for being so stupid and naive.

She rolled onto her back and sighed, nostalgia hitting her like a slap to the face.

She gave a sad smile as she glanced at the ring again and spoke in a voice lower than a whisper.

"Forever doesn't last that long these days, I guess."

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**There is chapter one. As I said, very short. Their past relationship will be explained more in further chapters. I have a lot of this story pre-written, so review, and I shall post again soon:) **


	2. The One Who Keeps Him Grounded

**First off, I love you guys! I didn't think many people would review the first chapter; not that I'm complaining.Maybe that's because I personally didn't like the first one. I hate writing without dialogue, but what can you do, hehe. As promised, this chapter is a bit longer than the other one. As the story progresses, the chapters get longer. That's usually what ends up happening! Anyway, this chapter is focused around Derek. He may be a little OOC, but he is eight years older than he is on the show, so it's to be expected. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the plot of this story!**

**Chapter Two: The One Who Keeps Him Grounded**

Derek was sitting on the couch in his apartment in Toronto. The TV was on, but he was barely paying attention to it. His stomach was growling with hunger, but he just didn't feel like getting up to make anything. He felt so overtired; he hadn't gotten home until two in the morning, and hadn't gotten to bed until three. He'd had to wake up at nine to drive Jayden to soccer practice, which meant he had to stay awake for another hour and a half to be awake in time to go and pick the kid up again. By the time had finished all that, it just didn't seem worth it to go back to sleep. So here he was, at two in the afternoon, still lazing on the couch.

"I can't find my helmet!" came a cry from down the hall somewhere. Derek ignored the voice, and kept his eyes glued to the TV. He didn't know where the damn thing was. He heard footsteps coming down the hall and a moment later, he looked up to see a small sandy haired boy standing there in jeans and a black hoodie-type sweater.

"Didn't you hear me?" he asked, sounding frustrated. "I said I can't find my-"

"Yeah, I heard you.'' Derek said, glancing back at the TV. "I don't know where your helmet is, Jay. Try the front closet. Maybe it's in there."

"I already did." Jayden said persistantly, and Derek groaned. "It's not there, and my friends are waiting outside. I've got to go meet them or else they'll leave without me."

"And you know what I'll do if anyone leaves without you?" Derek asked, flicking off the TV and sitting up. "I'll flatten um'."

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Jayden said, but he was grinning. "They're my age."

"And who says I can't take on a couple of eight year olds?" Derek asked, standing and crossing the room, glancing down at Jayden. "I'm not afraid of them. Bring um' on. We'll fight them all. Derek and Jay, back in action. What do you say?"

Derek had on his fighting face as he bent down, studying the boy curiously. He wouldn't crack a smile, but it was obvious that he was on the verge of laughter.

"You're weird." Jayden said, still grinning. He knew instantly that he had said something that had set Derek off, as Derek put on a pretend angry expression and shook his head, pretending to be shocked.

"That does it!" Derek growled, lunging for Jayden and tossing him over his shoulder, spinning him around. Jayden was laughing and begging Derek to put him down, but he wasn't listening to reason. He spun until he, himself, got dizzy, and he made his way towards the couch, collapsing onto it with Jayden sprawled out next to him, still laughing.

"And that, my friend, is what you get for messing with Derek Venturi." Derek said, smirking and sitting up straight, still dizzy. "So you'd better warn those friends of yours that you have got one very protective hockey star up here ready to come after them if they're mean to you! Got it?"

"Got it." Jayden said, sitting up next to Derek on the couch. "Hey, I remember where I put my helmet now! I left it in your room!"

"Alright Jay, you know the drill." Derek said, extending his fist to the younger boy, who grinned and bumped his much smaller fist against it. "Who's got attitude?"

"I got attitude." Jay said with a grin, high fiving Derek and jumping up, running off to Derek's room to grab his helmet. He came out with the helmet on his head, grinning broadly. "See you later, Derek."

"Later, buddy. Be back at five for dinner." Derek said, settling back down onto the couch to flip through the channels again.

Jayden Walker was eight years old, but if you didn't know better, you'd think he was younger. He was small for his age, leading him to be picked on by a lot of bigger, more threatening students in his third grade class. He had skipped a grade, so he would have been smaller than the average third grader anyway, but even most of the second graders were taller than he was. He had sandy brown hair, almost the same color as Derek's ( even if he wasn't Derek's son ) , and he had his mother's curious hazel brown eyes.

Jayden had been staying with Derek for over six months now. It had been a temporary arrangement at first; he was only supposed to stay with Derek for the weekend while the custody arrangements were worked out, but it had turned into something much more permanent.

Jayden was not Derek's son. He was the son of Jeffrey Walker and Jenna Bailey. Derek had met Jeff during his first day of unversity, at hockey practice. The two had quickly gotten to talking, and Derek had discovered that Jeff was a single parent of a then two year old Jayden. His mother had died only hours after giving birth to their child, due to complications, leaving Jeff to balance the grief of his fiancé's death, and raising their son. It was never easy . He had been balancing high school, then university, not to mention about three part time jobs, just to take care of Jay.

The two had become fast friends, and Derek had found himself growing more and more attached to Jayden. He was a cute kid, brilliant for his age, but small. Derek would help Jeff out with Jayden whenever help was needed. If it was a babysitter that Jeff needed, Derek was there. If it was a ride Jeff needed, Derek was there. He took Jayden on the weekends that Jeff needed to go away for work, once he secured a full time job. By the time Jayden's sixth birthday rolled around, Derek was something of a brotherly figure to Jayden. In fact, he was almost like a second father.

But six months ago, the worst had happened. Jayden had been staying with Derek for the weekend, while his father attended a business meeting in New Brunswick. Derek had gotten the call at around two in the morning from Jeff's parents, telling him that Jeff had been in a car crash on his way to the airport in New Brunswick, and he hadn't made it. He had died on the way to the hospital. Derek hadn't taken the loss of his best friend well. He'd been in denial, and had repeated over and over again that this had to be some sort of a mistake, that they had to have gotten the wrong person. But it soon became evident that this wasn't a dream; this wasn't a mistake. It was real. Jeff was dead, and now Derek had to tell Jayden.

Jayden had been surprisingly mature about it. For an eight year old, he had the full concept of death meaning forever downpat. Derek could only assume that it was because of his mother's death, and now, his father's. He had been accepting of his father's death, but it really had taken a toll on him. There were days when he would be moody and distant, even from Derek. For about a month after the accident, he would freeze everybody, except Derek, out. He had been getting a lot better over the past month or so, and Derek was starting to see more and more of the old Jayden everyday.

Ever since the accident, Jay had stayed with Derek. It had been temporary at first; everybody had assumed that Jayden would go off to live with his grandparents in California after a little while, once everything was arranged. Jayden had only met his mother's parents about four times, and had shown a lot of reluctance in going to live with them. Both sets of grandparents had wanted the boy, and there had been a lot of disagreement about the matter. But shortly after Jeff's death, his will was found, along with pre-signed temporary gaurdianship papers, and his will had requested that Jayden was to stay with Derek for as long as Derek was willing to keep him. Derek had not argued this at all, and neither did Jayden. It had taken a lot of adjusting, going from a babysitter to a fulltime gaurdian, but they were both getting used to it now, and they were falling into a predictable lifestyle.

Derek cared a lot about Jayden. That was something that he didn't show a lot of in his life anymore; care. He hadn't cared about anyone, except Jeff, since he had lost Casey when he was nineteen, shortly after he had met Jeff. After he and Casey had broken up, he had given up on caring too much about people. He had finally opened up to someone, and had let his true feelings show, and it had gotten him nowhere. He had spent almost four years of his life on a girl who had turned out to be wrong for him in the end.

The thing was, Derek still couldn't see Casey as the wrong girl for him. He still saw her as the right girl for him, the perfect match. But he knew these thoughts were pointless. Him and Casey had been over for about four years now, and nothing could change that. They had ended bitterly, and had barely talked since. Derek had no clue what she was doing with her life anymore. She could be married with kids, for all he knew. He didn't ask, because he didn't want to seem overly concerned. After all, she had never asked their parents about his life, so why should he ask about her's? As far as he knew, Casey didn't know that Derek was raising an eight year old. Hell, she probably didn't even know that he was still living in the same city as her. But he never made an attempt to change that.

Jayden had done a great job taking his mind off of Casey. With an eight year old to raise, Derek didn't have nearly as much time to date; which, in a way, was a good thing. He still loved girls, and he had gone back to his methods of going through about five girls a week, but at least now all of his time was not spent focusing on the things that bugged him about his dates, the first and last reason always being that they weren't Casey.

He had never moved on from her and, to the day, he still regretted ever letting her go. He knew that there was nothing that could change the past, but his mind would not allow him to let go of Casey. She had been his first love, and his first real heartbreak. And that was something that Derek just wasn't willing to move on from just yet.

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**Read and review. Chapter three is already finished, so expect an update soon. There will be flashbacks and whatnot in later chapters, so don't worry, everything will be explained. Thanks for reading. **


	3. Best Friends and Coffee

**This chapter is short, because it's, essentially, a transition chapter. Read and review!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter Three: Best Friends and Coffee**

"I'm telling you Case, you're working way too hard these days." Cole tried to tell her, placing his hand over hers gently. "I think you need to relax a bit, you know, take some time off."

"And what would I do during this supposed 'time off'?" Casey asked, rolling her eyes and laughing. "You're going away in in two weeks to that business trip in Alberta. You're going to be gone for two weeks. What am I supposed to do while you're gone?"

"I don't know, come with me?" he suggested, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah I know, it'd be boring. I'll be in meetings all day. Well why don't you, I don't know, take that trip home that your mother keeps buggng you about. I'm sure it would mean an awful lot to her. I mean, she's only got your little stepsister to look after now, what with your sister and your stepbrother in university now. Besides, you barely get to see your parents."

"Going home is a big deal for me." Casey said, placing her head in her hands, frustrated. "I avoid it when I can. You know that."

"Yeah I know you do, but Derek doesn't have any plans on coming home, does he?" Cole asked her, raising an eyebrow at her. "Come on Case, even if he shows up once or twice.. you can handle him for a little while, can't you?"

"Cole, you know what happened between me and Derek." Casey reminded him, not at all embarassed. Cole had been her best friend since they had met at a club when they were nineteen, and he knew everything that there was to know about Casey and Derek's relationship; from where it had started, to how it had ended. The whole story. Casey told him everything, and in return, Cole would help her out whenever she was facing a crisis. He was the best guy friend a girl could ask for.

Cole Myers and Casey MacDonald were inseperable. If you didn't know better, you'd think that they were married, they spent that much time together. But there was just no romantic attraction between the two of them. They had dated for a while, during their second year of university, but it had just been too weird for the both of them, and they'd gone back to being friends, finding the transition quite easy. When she had met him, her and Derek hadn't even been broken up for a month. She had been miserable, and had explained the whole ugly story to him. He had understood entirely what she was going through. Cole too, had let his high school love, Kallie, get away, and still regretted it.

On this particular day, the two of them were sitting at a circular table outside of a little café in downtown Toronto, drinking coffee. It was sunny out, and the streets were quite crowded with people rushing by, trying to make the most of their lunch break, like Casey and Cole were now. They worked in the same place; at a bigshot law firm in Toronto. Caseys father had landed her a job as an intern when she had gotten out of high school, and over the past few years she had worked her way up to secretary. She made good money, and she was happy at what she was doing. She often found herself becoming engrossed in her work, just to keep herself busy.

Cole, on the other hand, was a lawyer. His parents were rich and had put him through law school easily. He had a fancy apartment in an apartment building close to Casey's, but he spent most of his time at Casey's, hanging out with her and enjoying the 'simple life' as he so often put it. It wasn't that she was poor or anything, because she wasn't. But compared to Cole's lifestyle, she was a lot more laid back and casual. He had been raised in organization and order, while she had spent most of her teenage years in a crowded house with four other kids. With such a big family, it had been hard to keep order. That was something that Casey had accepted after a while. Not willingly, but she had accepted it nonetheless.

"Casey, look. I know you and Derek have had your fair share of issues-"

''That's putting it lightly." Casey mumbled under her breath, but Cole ignored her.

"-but maybe you just need to, dare I say it, move on." he finished, looking her right in the eye. He rushed to continue. "I mean, I know what happened with Derek was hard on you, but it was four years ago. You can't hold yourself back from spending time with your family because you don't want to face Derek. That's not fair. Not to you, and not to your family."

"I make time for them." she said quickly, looking away. He raised his eyebrows at her, obviously not agreeing with her, and she sighed. "I call them at least twice a week. I send gifts on everyones birthday and .. I see them enough, alright?"

"Oh really?" Cole challenged, sitting back with his arms folded across his chest pointedly. "You see them enough do you? Do you call Christmas and Thanksgiving enough then, Casey? Because that's the only time you ever go home. It says a lot that I'm your best friend and I have only met your family three times- twice when they came to Toronto, and once when you went home because Derek was gone away on business. I've never even _met_ Derek and I can tell he's controlling your life."

"Derek does _not _control my life." Casey argued. "Sure, I have some reservations about going home when he's there but .."

''Well he won't be there." Cole said, cutting her off. "He's like you, Case. Your stepfather said he only goes home Christmas and Thanksgiving too. Maybe the both of you are too scared to face your feelings, I don't know. Point is, you don't have to worry about it. Derek won't be there. You deserve this trip. Don't you want to see your family?"

"Well .. yeah." Casey admitted slowly. "I mean, I do miss them .."

"So then when we go back to work this afternoon, we're going to go right up to Mr.Bennett's office, and letting him know that, starting Thursday, you're going to need some time off to drive into London to see your family."

"But I-"

"No buts." Cole said, grinning. "You need this, Case."

"Alright, fine." Casey said with a smirk. "It won't be _too _bad. Not with my best friend right next to me, anyway."

She smiled suggestively, trying to put on her best pleading face. Cole stared at her for a moment, trying to register what she meant. When he realized what she wanted him to do, he shook his head frantically.

"No, Case." he said, taking his hand away from hers. "No way in hell. The last time I was there your stepbrother set my shirt on fire."

"He meant well." Casey said, shrugging, and Cole stared at her incredulously.

"_He meant well_?"he cried, and several people around him turned to look at him. He lowered his voice. "Case, I wound up having to get a skin graft. Do you know how painful that was?"

"It was a mistake." she dismissed, waving her hand. "I'm sure he never meant it. Besides, Edwin was younger back then."

"He was a year younger than he is right now." Cole said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Casey. No way in hell. There is _nothing_ in this world that you can say that can make me change my mind on this."

Casey blinked at him a couple of times, using her puppy dog face. Cole looked away, trying not to let it get to him, but when he glanced back a moment later she was still batting her eyelashes at him. He groaned and rolled his eyes.

"You're going to be the death of me, Casey, I swear." he grumbled. "Fine. I'll go to god damn London with you. But you owe me._ Big time_."

Casey let out a squeal and jumped up from her seat, running around to the other side of the table and wrapping Cole in a big hug. He grimaced as she kissed his cheek over and over again, saying 'thank you' time after time. And soon enough, they were on their way back to the office, where they would apply for time off. Cole pretended like it was a big deal to be driving into London with Casey, claiming that he had 'better things to do'. They both knew that he was only kidding. He was the type of best friend who didn't really mind doing someone a favour, even if he said he did. And when it came to Casey, he knew it was best not to stick her in London by herself. Not when there was so many reminders of Derek there. She wouldn't be able to handle it.

And as they absent mindedly discussed their trip, he felt rather glad that the infamous Derek Venturi wouldn't be there. Putting the two of them in the same house together for a week .. that would be hell.

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**I know that chapter was painfully short, but chapter four is longer, and contains the flashback to what happened between them. If I get enough reviews, Ill post it tonight, or tomorrow morning! SO REVIEW :) **


	4. Trip Down Memory Lane

**Clearly, this chapter is based around Derek. Read and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Hard as I have been trying, I still haven't managed to secure rights to any TV shows. Oh well.**

**Chapter Four: Trip Down Memory Lane**

On Monday evening, Derek was leaning against the kitchen counter, waiting for the pot of macaroni and cheese to finish cooking so he could call Jayden in. As he glanced around his apartment, he realized that he wasn't too bad off, when he thought about it. Despite the way he had been in high school, he was actually organized now. All of the furniture matched; his red couch matched the red carpet, which matched the white walls. Jayden had often teased him because of this, saying that he felt like he was living in a giant candy cane, but Derek was too lazy to repaint it and besides that, he liked the colors. He tried to tell himself that it wasn't because his and Casey's old apartment had been the same colours, but he couldn't lie to himself.

Nothing in his apartment was totally spotless. There was a few magazines scattered across the coffee table, and a few of Jayden's things had been left out around, but for the most part, they lived an organized lifestyle. Living with Casey for most of his teenage years had eventually paid off in terms of his hygiene habits.

"Derek!" he heard a voice call from down the hallway. He groaned. "Derek?"

"What is it, Jay?" Derek called down the hall. "I'm trying to cook supper."

"Your Dad is on the phone!" Jayden informed him. Derek grimaced. He wasn't in the mood to talk to his father right now. But he knew if he didn't, he'd just face a longer conversation later, so he reluctantly picked up the kitchen extension.

"I've got it, Jay." he said, and he heard the little boy hang up the other phone. "Hey Dad."

"Jayden sure has a lot to talk about these days." his father said right away. "He went on for five minutes about his soccer game, and then started talking about how you're going out with a uh .. _skank_, as he so rightly put it?"

"I'm _what_?" Derek asked, his eyes widening. "_What_ did he say?"

"He said he heard you call this girl a skank when you were on the phone with Sam." George said, sounding slightly amused. Derek was too dumbfounded to say anything, and his father laughed. "Don't worry about it, Derek. Kids pick up on everything. There was more than one occasion when you overheard something I said and ran off and repeated it. It's always embarassing but .. it's great to laugh about later."

"Yeah, great." Derek said, rolling his eyes. "Remind me to get his walls soundproofed. And besides, I only went on one date with that chick. She just wasn't my type."

"Wasn't your type." George repeated dryly. "You mean like every other girl that you've gone out with since Casey broke the engagement?"

Derek was silent on the other end as he twirled the phone cord between his fingers. He wasn't willing to talk about that. He never had been. His father should have known by now that losing Casey was a very touchy subject for Derek.

"You know I still don't entirely understand why you and Casey broke up." his father said slowly. "And don't give me that 'we grew apart' bullshit Derek. You and Casey have been using that excuse for years, and nobody has bought it. You may think we do, but we don't. We're not that stupid. We know that there is more to the story. And you _will_ tell us, eventually."

"There's nothing to tell." Derek lied, running his hand through his hair. "It didn't work out."

"It was working pretty well for for an awful long time, Derek. You two started dating when you were sixteen, and you were going strong right up until you were almost twenty. You were _engaged_, Derek. You don't just randomly decide to call off an engagement. Things were fine one day and the next, you two had broken up. Things like that don't usually happen. Not between two people who had been going out for so long without a hitch."

"We had our problems." Derek said, shrugging. He turned the burner off on the stove and started to scoop the macaroni and cheese into the bowls. Jayden must have heard the spoon scraping against the bottom of the pot, because he came rushing into the room, grabbing his bowl and plopping down at the table happily. Derek didn't join him right away. Instead, he used one hand to support the phone, and used the other to prop himself up against the counter on his elbow.

"I'm not going to keep pressing you on this, because I know you aren't going to tell me." George said, and Derek sighed with relief. "But one day, I expect you two will tell us everything that went on."

"I doubt it." Derek shrugged. "Anyway, I've got to go, suppers ready, and-"

"Wait a second." George said, cutting him off. "Before you go, there's something I need to ask you. It's the reason I called in the first place. Do you want to come into London on Thursday? You haven't been by in a little while, and I'm sure everyone would love to-"

"Sorry Dad, but I've got Jayden with me now, remember?" Derek said, shrugging. "Other than that I would, but-"

"Bring him with you." George suggested. "We've got room here. Lots of it. Come by for a week or so. It'll be fun."

Derek racked his brain for an excuse. He _really_ didn't want to have to go to London and stay with his family for a whole week. Sure, he loved them all, but he didn't want to chance running into Casey, should she decide to drop by. Even if he didn't see Casey, he still had too many memories in that house- good and bad, of when him and Casey were together. It was much too painful.

"Dad, I_ really _don't think a trip to London is best right now." Derek said. He was about to continue when Jayden hopped up out of his chair, rushing to Derek's side and jumping up and down.

"We're going to London? Derek, are we going to London?" he was yelling in excitement. "Please say we're going to London! I want to go! Please, Derek? Pretty please?"

It was times like this when Derek had to wonder if Jayden had a multiple personality disorder. He was the most mature eight year old that Derek knew, but when he got overexcited, he was worse than a four year old with candy.

His father waited patiently for a response on the other end of the line, clearly having heard Jaydens outburst, and Jayden himself was tugging on the hem of Derek's shirt, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. Knowing that he was never going to get out of this, Derek sighed.

''Alright,_ fine_." he said, closing his eyes in defeat. "One week. That's all I can manage, Dad. _One week_."

"We're going to London!'' Jayden cried, running back into his room and slamming his door, no doubt to start packing.

"Finish your supper!" Derek called out after him. He glared in the direction that Jayden had just gone in. "Traiter." he muttered, covering his face with his hand. "I've got to go. I'll see you Thursday afternoon sometime, alright? Bye."

He hung up the phone and sat at the table to start in on his supper. He hated talking to his father sometimes. He had a nasty habit of bringing up the breakup, and Derek didn't like that at all. There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't regret every single moment of that argument that had caused Casey to leave him. As he ate his supper, his mind floated back to that day.

---

_They had been standing in the middle of their Toronto apartment, arguing. It was mid afternoon on a Saturday, and normally, the two of them would be out, or cuddled up on the couch watching a movie. But not today. Today was different. Today, Casey was mad at Derek for coming home and finding him in their apartment with another girl. _

_"Casey, it was an accident!" Derek cried, trying to stay calm with her. "I was completely wasted. I didn't know what I was doing." _

_"That doesn't make it any better!'' Casey yelled. "You had plans with me anyway, what the hell were you doing out getting loaded drunk?"_

_"I _forgot_!" Derek said, throwing his hands up in the air. "I'm only human, Casey, so excuse me if, like everyone else, I forget something every once in a while." _

_"It was our _anniversary_!" she yelled in disbelief. "We had been going out for four years yesterday, Derek. Four_ _years! And you're able to forget about that the second you see something in a skirt? That's real great to know. Thanks." _

_"Casey, it wasn't like that." he said, trying to convince her. "Why can't you just believe me? I didn't know what I was doing. Admittedly, I did forget about our plans, and I am _so _sorry for that. I didn't forget it was our anniversary though. Honestly, I didn't. I just .. well .. I lost track of the time and forgot to go meet you. I was already drinking by then anyway, when I was hanging out with the guys that afternoon, and- look, I never slept with her okay?"_

_"Yeah, but that was only because I came home and interrupted you." she reminded him. "If it wasn't for that you would have, Derek, and you know it. And what about what you said to her, huh? When I walked in and she asked if I was your girlfriend, you said no."_

_"I told the truth after!" _

_"Yeah, after you registered that I was mad at you." she snapped angrily. _

_"Casey, I-" _

_"I don't want to hear your excuses, Derek!" Casey said, running a hand through her hair. "I should have figured that you'd do something like this eventually. When I started dating you, people warned me. 'You're too good for him, Casey' , 'Stay away from him, Casey'.' And what did I do? I _defended _you! How stupid of me, huh, Derek? Excuse me if I thought that you had actually _changed."

_"I _have _changed." he tried to tell her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She instantly slapped it away, and turned back to him, anger flashing through her eyes. _

_"Yeah, you're right, you _have _changed." she said bitterly. "You've gone from an insulting, chauvinistic, womanizing _pig, _to a selfish, self centered _asshole _who cheats on his fiancé."_

_"Well, can you even blame me?" he spat out, not even thinking about what he was saying. "Listen to the way you're talking to me! It's no wonder I did what I did. Any guy would need a break from an annoying, uptight bitch like you!"_

_Casey's face fell, and more tears came to her eyes. Only then did Derek realize what he had just said to her. His chest was heaving angrily, and he winced, knowing that what he had just said was way too harsh, even if she'd been harsh with him too. The difference was, he deserved it, and she didn't. _

_"Dammit, Casey, I'm sorry." he said, dropping his hands to his sides as his face softened. "I didn't mean to say that, it just slipped out." _

_Derek could tell that their argument was coming to an end. Usually, this would be a good thing, but he could tell by the look on her face that ending the argument right now wouldn't be a good thing. Sure enough, the next words out of her mouth were words of defeat. _

_"I'm not fighting with you anymore," she whispered, crying quietly. "Just get out." _

_"What?" he asked, thinking that she had to be kidding. "What do you mean get out? I live here." _

_"Either you leave, or I do." she said, folding her arms and looking up at him defiantly. She looked thoughtful for a moment, and rushed on. "On second thought, why don't I leave? That way you can invite your precious lover back over to finish what you started."_

_"Casey, don't do this." he said. "Don't fight with me here; please. I never meant for this to happen. I love you, alright? Nothing like this will ever happen again."  
_

_"Damn right it won't." Casey said, laughing coldly. "And do you want to know why this won't happen again?"_

_"Wh-Why?" Derek stammered, afraid of the answer. _

_"Because I'm breaking up with you." she said, smiling bitterly. "It's over, Derek. We're through. I never want to see you again." _

_Derek stood there for a moment, unable to believe the words that had just come out of her mouth. He opened his own mouth twice, trying to think of something to say, but both times, nothing came out but a small gasp of air. His heart was hammering madly in his chest with fear, and he finally gathered up the nerve to say something._

_"Casey, you don't mean that." he finally said. "You can't mean that. What about the .. the engagement?" _

_"The engagement?" Casey laughed. "You've got to be kidding me, Derek. You think the simple fact that we're engaged can make me forgive what I saw last night? Forget it. The engagement is off, obviously."  
_

_"Casey, I love you. Please, don't do this." Derek begged her as she grabbed her coat and headed towards the door. He followed her, racking his brain for something that he could do or say to make her change her mind. She put her hand on the doorknob to leave, but at the last second, he spun her around and pressed her up against the wall, his lips capturing hers for a brief second. But as soon as the kiss had started, he felt something strike the side of his head, and he pulled back, wincing. He rubbed his head where she had punched him, and he released her. _

_"What the _hell_ was that for?" _

_"_That_ was for kissing me." Casey yelled. She slapped him hard across the face. "That one was for forgetting about our anniversary." _

_Before he had a chance to respond, or to defend himself, she had kneed him in the stomach. He doubled over in a fit of coughing, trying to catch his breath and regulate the pain coursing through his stomach, his head and his face all at once. _

_"And that one was for cheating on me." she finished coldly. She paused for a moment before kicking him hard in the shins. "That one is because your the world's biggest asshole, and I never want to see you again."_

_With that, she turned and wrenched the door open, storming out with her hair flying behind her. Derek tried to say something to her, to get her to wait, but he was in too much pain. Before he had a chance to even try, she had slammed the door in his face, and her footsteps could be heard retreating down the hallway._

_--_

The next time Derek had seen her had been four months later, at Christmas, when she had showed up at their parents house with her new boyfriend, Ricky. Derek had tried to get her on her own to talk to her, but it had proved to be impossible. She flat out avoided him, and he was half afraid that if he so much as touched her she'd hit him twenty times harder than she had when they had broken up. It was his own fault, after all. He had screwed up everything on his own terms. He had gotten drunk, forgotten about their anniversary, cheated on her, denied their relationship to another girl, and then yelled at her. He couldn't say he blamed her for leaving him. If a guy did something like that to Lizzie or Marti, he'd totally kick their asses. He hated himself for what he'd done to her.

''Derek?" Jayden said, as he took his seat at the kitchen table again. Derek hadn't even heard him come back into the room. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Jay." Derek lied, forcing a smile. "Everything's fine. Don't you worry about it. You just eat your supper."

Jayden studied Derek curiously for a second, before shrugging and stabbing at a piece if macaroni with his fork. Derek looked away, his mind still focused on Casey. He was glad that she wouldn't be in London. She only went at Thanksgiving and Christmas, like he did. And he was glad; because he didn't know how much self control he had when he was around her. He was likely to end up kissing her again. And as much as he wanted to, that was something that he understood would never happen willingly again.

* * *

**So there's some insight into the situation. Review, and I'll probably post again tomorrow!**


	5. Reunions and Misunderstandings

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. -sigh- Fine. Crush my hopes and dreams!**

**Chapter Five: Reunions and Misunderstandings**

Cole and Casey pulled up in front of the MacDonald-Venturi household at around four thirty on Thursday afternoon. It had been a long drive, since they had made a detour to visit Cole's brother Riley in Kingston, but they had finally arrived. Casey shut off the car and went around back to open up the trunk and get their bags. Cole only had one bag, as he was only staying for four days. After that, he would be off to Alberta for a couple of weeks for work . Casey, however, would be staying for at least a full week, so she had packed a lot more than he had. They lugged their bags up to the front porch, and Casey stopped for a moment, turning to face Cole. The door was open, to let fresh air in, so she whispered what she had to say;

"Alright Cole, you remember how insane my family is." she said, grinning. "Just remember, you're only here for a few days."

"Why am I doing this again?"

"Because you love me?" she said with an innocent smile, and he rolled his eyes, picking up his bag again. Casey turned in the doorway and went to go inside when a little boy ran straight into her stomach. He stumbled backwards and Casey dropped her bags, reaching out and catching him by the arm. She studied the boy carefully, trying to figure out who he was, but she didn't recognize him at all. Deciding that it wasn't important yet, she dropped the boy's sleeve and he blushed at her.

''Sorry." he said sheepishly, running past her. She saw him turn up the Davis's driveway, and she looked back at Cole, confused.

"Who was that?" he asked her, raising his eyebrow curiously.

"No idea." she said, shaking her head and walking inside. "Mom? George? We're here!"

She had barely laid her bags next to the door when her mother rushed out with an apron on, flour smeared across her cheek. She was grinning and she ran to Casey, enveloping her in a hug.

"Casey, you're here!" she cried, moving back and forth as though dancing. Casey rolled her eyes at Cole from behind her mothers back, and he grinned. When her mother broke apart from her, she moved on to Cole, wrapping him too, in a giant hug.

"Cole, it's so good to see you again!" she said, smiling at the pair of them and wiping the flour off of her cheek. "How was the drive over here?"

"Long." Casey said, as Cole put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head back onto his shoulder. "Having Cole there definitly helped. Im glad he came along. He's such a sweetheart."

"She forced me to do it." Cole joked, and Nora laughed at the pair of them. "Im just kidding; I don't mind."

They chatted for a few more minutes, before Nora said she had to go and check on whatever it was she was making. When her mother had left the room, Casey turned to Cole with a smile, hanging one arm around his neck absent-mindedly.

"See, that wasn't so bad now was it?" she laughed. "And the rest of this trip will continue to go fine, as long as I don't have to deal with-"

Before Casey could finish her sentence, someone else appeared in the doorway to the house. He paused upon seeing Casey and Cole there together, and Casey's breath got caught in her throat. Standing right in front of her, plain as day, was the one person she didn't want to see on this trip. Wearing a university hockey jacket with his name etched onto the right arm in white embroidery, was Derek. He seemed glued to the spot, just like Casey was. Cole did not see Derek enter, and was wondering why Casey had stopped talking so suddenly, and why she was staring at the doorway in shock.

"Casey, hello?" he said, snapping his fingers in front of her face. "What are you-"

He turned around and saw Derek then, standing stock still and staring at Casey. Cole knew who Derek was of course, he had seen pictures of him, and home videos that Casey had kept. He watched as the two of them stared at one another for a few more moments, before Derek found the nerve to speak.

"Um, hey Casey." he got out, his voice shaking nervously. Cole could feel Casey shaking, as he still had an arm around her waist, and her arm was still around his neck. He had seen her get worked up over Derek before, but this nervousness went beyond anything he had ever seen before, and that included seeing her during the week of final exams back in school.

"Hi Derek." she said, in a voice barely above a whisper. She looked down, and Cole coughed akwardly.

"Um, Case, Im going to bring my stuff upstairs, alright?" he said, taking his arm away from Casey, and letting hers drop loosely to her side. She turned to look at Cole, knowing why he was leaving, and she sighed.

"You want to take my stuff up too?" she asked, trying to act normal by shooting him a pleading smile. He rolled his eyes and picked up her stuff in his free hand.

"Only because I love you, Case." he said, tossing the final bag over his shoulder, before making his way up the stairs. Having his back turned, Cole didn't notice how Derek tensed upon hearing those words, or how his hands curled into fists when Casey innocently called out 'Thanks Cole, I love you too' . It did not occur to Cole that Derek could get the wrong meaning from those words; they were so used to it. They always joked around like that. When Cole's footsteps died off, Casey turned to Derek, smiling akwardly.

"So, um, how have you been?" she asked, as Derek made his way slowly to the couch. Casey followed, sitting down a good foot or so away from him. Derek shrugged.

"I've been alright. You know, keeping busy with work and stuff." he said, then paused. "How about you?"

"I'm doing okay." she said, offering him a tiny shrug. "Work keeps me busy, for the most part. I can't even remember the last time I was back here. I think it was Christmas. How about you?"

"Christmas," Derek confirmed, nodding his head.

They were silent for a moment, neither one of them wanting to bring up anything more personal than that. It was Derek who finally broke the barrier.

"Um, not to be rude or anything," he started, blushing, "But my Dad and Nora never told me that you were going to be here."

"Yeah, they left out that little detail when I called them too." she said, biting her lip. "Do you think they did this on purpose?"

"Knowing them?" Derek said, giving a forced laugh. "I wouldn't put it past them."

Sitting here with Derek was akward. It was bad enough that they were in the same house, the house that they had grown up in and shared so many good and bad times together in. The house where they had been a couple in for so long. It also occured to Casey that this was probably the longest conversation they had had since they had broken up, if you didn't count the arguments. Casey was just about to say something else to Derek when the little boy from earlier ran into the room, hurling himself at Derek.

Derek instantly forgot about Casey and laughed, getting the boy in a headlock and ruffling his hair with the other hand. The boy was laughing and Casey wondered yet again who the hell this kid was. She had never seen him before, but it seemed as though Derek had a pretty good relationship with him. The two boys fooled around for a few more moments before Derek released him, letting him fall in a heap in between him and Casey.

"You've got to stop that." Derek said to him. "Because you know I'm going to win every single time you do it, right? I thought you would have learned by now."

"I was trying out that element of surprise thing you taught me." Jayden said, raising his fists in the air. "C'mon D, rematch?"

"Later, buddy." Derek said, shaking his head and leaning back. "I'm all beaten out right now."

"You never used to be beaten out before." Jayden said with a frown, lowering his fists, and tilting his head. "Is that 'cause you're getting old?"

"I'm only twenty four, thank you very much." Derek said, glaring playfully at him. "Besides, it's raising a little devil like you that's got me beaten down. Now get lost."

Casey was frozen to her spot. She couldn't believe the words that had just come out of Derek's mouth. He had said that he was raising this kid. Raising as in .. Derek had a son? But he couldn't. That little boy had to be at least seven or eight years old. Casey and Derek had only been broken up for four years. That only left one possibilty. Derek had cheated on her before. Sure, they had broken up mainly because he had cheated on her, but that had been when they were nineteen or twenty. If this really was Derek's son, he would have had to have been with someone else when they were seventeen or so. She didn't want to think the worst in Derek, or think that he had been lying to her when he said he had only cheated on her once , but yet here was a kid, right in front of her, a kid Derek claimed to be raising. Casey had to wonder that, if he really was Derek's son, where had he been all along? Why had she never heard about him? Had Derek _known _that he had a son? She shrugged it off as momentarily unimportant she tuned back into what was happening.

The two boys high fived each other and Jayden started to run off towards the front door again. Before he got a chance to run outside, Derek sat up a bit straighter and called after him.

"Hey Jay?" he called, and Jayden turned around. "Where are you going?"

"Over to play with Dimmy's younger cousins." Jayden said, before turning and running off out the door.

Derek settled back down against the couch, sighing deeply .

"Damn kid is gonna have me run down by the time I'm thirty." Derek grumbled, rubbing his forehead. "He never sits still. He's always doing something. Sports, wanting to go to a movie. As long as he's preoccupied, he'll be happy. But I can't say I blame him. The kid _has _been through a lot. Losing a parent is never easy, and I guess having to move and change your entire life isn't that easy either."

So that explained it; sort of. Casey was trying to work things out in her mind. From what she could gather, it seemed like Derek had gotten a girl pregnant, and, she could only guess, had disappeared, or had not known about it. Clearly, the kid's mother had died, and now Derek was stuck with his son. That was the only explanation that made any sense to her whatsoever. She glanced at Derek.

"I know all about having to adjust to living in a new place." she reminded him. "I had to leave my school and my friends to come and live here when I was fifteen, remember?"

"Yeah, but Jay's only eight years old." Derek said, running a hand through his hair. "He's been through so damn much, and he doesn't deserve to be putting up with all of this. I just.."

Derek trailed off, glancing over at Casey, who was watching him with curiousity. He sighed.

"Never mind." he dismissed, closing up again. "It doesn't matter. He's got me now. And I've got him. I've learned you can't trust a lot of people in life. Especially when it comes to love. But .. that's the good thing about kids. Their love is unconditional, as long as you treat them right."

With that said, Derek stood up and walked out the front door again, looking flustered and annoyed. Casey rolled her eyes. It was always like this on the rare occasion that her and Derek had a civilized conversation. One of them would bring up something personal by mistake, and it would always lead to an argument. Then they'd both close up, and one of them would storm out. After that, they usually wouldn't speak until the next time they were forced into the same room, maybe a year later. She didn't know why she ever bothered making conversation with Derek, when it would always come back to the same thing. This is why they never spoke anymore. Things were just too weird between them, and maybe they always would be. Maybe she would go through the rest of her life being forced to face Derek a couple of times a year, but never bothering to make up with him. And maybe it was for the better, if he had a son that he had never bothered to tell her about. Clearly, he had cheated on her on more than one occasion. She closed her eyes, tilting her head back against the couch angrily.

"You okay?" came a male voice, and Casey looked up to see Cole standing above her, looking concerned. "You look all .. flustered. Is Derek annoying you already?"

"He's got a son." Casey said quietly, her voice weak. "He's got a son and he never even bothered to tell me."

* * *

**So there we go. Review it, and let me know what you thought. Chapter six should be up soon, too. It's already done :) **


	6. Uncovering the Truth

**Sorry for the delay. I have major writers block on chapter nine, and I always like having a couple of chapters ahead pre-written. I've actually gone ahead and wrote some of the end chapters of this, but I'm just stuck on the ninth, for some reason. Anyway, decided not to put it off any longer, since school starts again this week. **

**Disclaimer: I own lots of things. 'Life With Derek' isn't one of them.**

**Chapter Six: Uncovering the Truth**

Derek was furious. Why the hell hadn't their parents told him that Casey would be staying with them at the same time as him and Jayden? Had they purposely asked Derek to come along because they knew Casey would be there? They knew how akward things were between the two oldest children, after everything that had happened four years ago. Of course, their parents didn't know the whole story, but they knew that there was more to it than Casey and Derek let on, and they knew that things were so bad that they didn't even speak to each other anymore. And yet they had allowed Casey to stay in the house at the same time as him.

And who was Casey to bring along that boyfriend of hers anyway? Derek didn't even have to ask to know he was her boyfriend. The way he had his arm around her waist, and the way her arm hung loosely around his neck told him everything he needed to know. The way they had said they loved each other had annoyed the hell out of him, and he'd wanted to hit the bastard then and there. Derek could have carried her damn bags up the stairs if it was that big of a deal. Cole didn't deserve an 'I love you' for _that. _

Derek hit his head against the tree agressively, groaning. Why the hell couldn't he just get over Casey? She was clearly over him. It had been four years already. He wanted to move on and start over. He wanted to love again. But no matter how hard he tried, he still loved her, and he knew that it was his own stupid fault that Cole had Casey and not him. He had been the one to cheat on her, and he'd had to face the consequences. Derek hated how that a quick mistake with someone who hadn't even mattered to him had ruined his life. He hated himself for letting it.

Derek's thoughts were interrupted when Jayden suddenly appeared in front of him, a distant expression on his face, one he only ever wore when something big was on his mind. Derek squinted at the kid in the sunlight, before gesturing for him to sit down. He did so, and Derek took a deep breath.

"What is it?" Derek asked, closing his eyes again. "I know that look. Something's up."

"It's nothing, Derek." Jayden said, turning his head to look up at the MacDonald-Venturi residence. Derek snorted. "Really, Im fine."

Derek loved how easy it was to have a mature conversation with Jayden. He may be the smallest kid in his grade, and he may only be eight years old, but if you talked to him for a few minutes, you'd think he was at least eleven or twelve. Then again, it was to be expected. The kid had skipped a grade, after all. But all of the brains in the world didn't help Jayden when it came to lying.

"Lying is my area, Jay." Derek reminded him. "You, on the other hand, can't lie to save your life. Now tell me what's up."

Jayden was silent for a moment, picking at the grass below him, and staring at the porch of the house, where Edwin and Lizzie were sitting down, talking.

"Derek, am I an orphan?" he asked, and Derek's head shot up as he glanced over at his young friend with surprise.

"Who the _hell _called you an orphan?" Derek demanded, unable to control his language at a time like this. Edwin and Lizzie looked over at the both of them for a second, before looking away again quickly, trying to act as though they hadn't heard Derek's outburst.

"I heard Dimmy's uncle say that it was terrible, to be 'orphaned' at such a young age or something." Jayden said , shrugging. "That didn't really bother me, but then I remembered in music class, we watched this movie called 'Annie'. She was an orphan and no one loved her."

"First of all, we are _so_ going to watch some kung fu movies when we get home." Derek said, shaking his head in disgust. "I don't know what the schools are thinking, showing you guys something like _'Annie'_. Second of all, do you live in an orphanage?"

"No."

''Do I make you scrub floors?"

"No."

"Do I yell at you?"

"Not really."

"Do you have poofy red hair or wear a dress?"

"_Derek_!"

"Are you hinting that you do?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean hey, it's not exactly my style, but everyone's different."

"Fine." Jayden sighed, rolling his eyes. "No."

"Well then you are nothing like Annie." Derek assured him, closing his eyes again. "Trust me, buddy. You may have lost your parents but .. you're not that kind of orphan."

"Then what am I?" Jayden asked, frustrated. This wasn't the first time he had had to question his place in the world. His situation was a confusing one, but he was okay with his life, for the most part. It was just times that other people questioned his life that made him re-evaluate it himself. Derek sighed, unsure of what to say. He was still new to this whole parenting thing, and it was hard to always know the right thing to say to him. He was mostly relying on pure instinct and quick thinking as he responded.

"You, Jayden Walker, are the coolest eight year old that I know." Derek said. He opened one eye to see Jayden looking at the ground, disappointed. He sighed, knowing what Jayden really wanted to hear. "And you also happen to be someone who I've come to regard, more or less, as family. So relax okay? I'm not going anywhere."

Derek had barely closed his eyes again when he felt a small pair of arms wrap around his neck tightly. He looked to see Jayden hugging him and, akwardly, he hugged him back. Jayden wasn't much of a hugger. He seemed to have adopted the 'no hugging' policy that Derek had once had back in high school. But there were moments when he would show affection for other people, mainly Derek. Even though Derek still wasn't big on hugs, he didn't really mind when Jayden hugged him. It felt good to have someone looking up to him, for once.

When Jayden pulled back, he sat down next to Derek again, remaining silent for a moment.

"Derek?" he finally asked, sounding a lot more relieved about his parental situation. Derek grunted to show he was listening. "Did you know my mother?"

Derek sighed. Jenna Bailey. He had heard a lot about her from his best friend. From what Derek could gather, Jeff and Jenna had shared something really special. They had been dating for years, and had been engaged to be married; sort of like Casey and Derek. Except Jenna had died. If it wasn't for her death, Derek knew that Jeff would have married her, and Jayden would still have a mother. But she _had_ died, and now, Jayden wanted to know more about her. Derek couldn't say that he hadn't expected this, because he had. Jayden was getting older, and it was natural for him to want to know more about the mother that he had never known. Unfortunatly, Derek didn't have any answers for him.

"No Jay, I didn't know your mother." Derek said, yawning. "She died before I even met your Dad."

"But .. they did love each other right?" Jayden asked, sounding worried. "My Mom and Dad?"

Derek sat up then, studying Jayden carefully. The little boy was looking at Derek with worry, as if he was scared of the answer. It still shocked Derek sometimes, how mature the kid was. He understood life, and he understood loss. You could have a mature conversation with him as well as you could with a teenager. Derek nodded.

"Your Dad loved your mother more than he loved anyone else in the world, except for you, of course." he assured Jayden, his voice firm. He knew how important it was to make sure that Jayden knew all of this. "He never stopped loving her."

Jayden didn't say anything else, and Derek was glad. He stared up at the clouds and let himself get lost in thought. When Jeff had died, he had still been in love with the girl he had lost. Sure, circumstances were different, but Derek had to wonder, would he be like that? When he died, would he still love Casey the way he did right now? The way he had when they were going out? Could he go through his entire life going on meaningless dates, kissing girls who didn't matter to him? He didn't know, but he had a feeling that the one chance he had gotten at true love was gone. He had a feeling that he was going to have to settle for something else, eventually. Something less than love.

- - - - - - -

Meanwhile, back inside the MacDonald-Venturi household, Cole was staring at Casey in awe, shocked by what she had just told him.

"What do you mean, Derek's got a son?" Cole asked Casey, sitting down next to her. "Since when does Derek have a son?"

"Since eight years ago, _apparantly_." Casey cried, frustrated. She couldn't decide which emotion was stronger right now; shock or anger. "You know that kid I ran into in the doorway? Yeah, he's apparantly my ex's kid."

Cole stared at her for a moment, unsure of what he could possibly say to make this better. Casey could tell that he was just as confused by this whole situation as she was, and she couldn't blame him. Nothing in her life ever seemed to make sense since she met Derek Venturi. She personally blamed him.

"Case, that makes _no_ sense!'' Cole said, looking confused. "You and Derek only broke up-"

"Four years ago, I know." Casey said, nodding. Cole chewed on his bottom lip, rubbing the back of his neck as he thought through what she had just said. Suddenly, a look of comprehension dawned across his features, and he seemed to catch on to what was going on.

"So that means-"

"He was cheating on me before that." Casey confirmed, nodding angrily. "I can only assume that Jayden is his son. He's raising him, I know that. And he mentioned how great it was having a kid. Oh, and he also said that Jayden had lost a parent, and that he's had to move; so I'm guessing his mother died and now Derek has to raise his kid."

"Well, maybe you're jumping to conclusions." Cole suggested, looking doubtful. Casey shot him a look that was filled with doubt, and Cole sighed. "You're right. It _does _sound sort of obvious. I don't know, Case. I don't know what to tell you. It's hard enough that you're not over Derek-"

"I am _so_ over Derek!" Casey cried defensively, smacking his shoulder agressively. He pouted and rubbed his shoulder. She cringed. "Sorry. But trust me, I am _completely_ over Derek."

Cole looked at her doubtfully, and Casey rolled her eyes.

''Okay, I'm not over him but it was my first real love, and my first real heartbreak." Casey reminded him. "But I don't love him anymore. I know that much."

"Are you sure?"

"Im positive." Casey said, nodding. "I have absolutely _no_ romantic feelings for Derek Venturi."

Casey knew that this was a lie, and she was pretty sure that Cole knew it too. Despite the fact that she told Cole everything, she always lied when it came to whether or not she had feelings for Derek. She had never quite let go of him, and she had a feeling that she wouldn't be able to anytime soon. Sure, it was hard sometimes, but she tried not to dwell on it. By doing so, she had somewhat accepted the fact that her and Derek were over . It was a long process, but she was getting there. Besides, her feelings were very faint, and she knew that she'd _never _go back to Derek after what he had done to her.

At that moment, Derek came back into the house, Jayden on his back. He glanced at Cole and Casey, his features turning cold instantly. Jayden hopped down off of his back and darted upstairs, leaving the three older ones alone in an akward silence.

"I don't mean to be rude," Derek said to Cole, in a tone that threatened rudeness in every syllable. "But can I ask who you are?"

"Oh, uh, sorry." Cole said, shaking his head. He stood and crossed the room, extending a hand to Derek. "I'm Cole Myers. I'm Casey's best friend."

Derek's grip on Cole's hand which had, at first, been crushing, instantly loosened, and Derek stared at Cole hopefully, dropping his hands to his sides again.

"You're her .. best friend?" he stammered, choking over his own words. "You aren't her .. her boyfriend?"

"Not at all." Cole said, shaking his head, knowing jealousy when he saw it. He couldn't hold back the smirk that crept onto his features. "What gave you that idea?"

"N-Nothing." Derek said, looking rather relieved. He grinned at Cole, his attitude towards him changing entirely within seconds. "So anyway, you like hockey?"

Casey rolled her eyes at Derek's one track mind. No matter what happened, everything always led back to hockey. It was just a way of life for Derek by now. Dating the guy for four years had forced her to accept that.

"Im going to unpack my things." she said, standing up and passing the two boys, who hadn't heard a word she had said. She made her way upstairs, grumbling to herself about what idiots guys were, when she almost tripped over Jayden, who was sitting in the middle of the hallway, writing on a notepad. Casey stumbled and grabbed onto the railing, trying to regain her balance. She looked down at Jayden, and smiled softly. Despite the fact that this kid was probably Derek's, she had no right to hate him. He was only a child, after all. If he really was the result of Derek cheating on her, it wasn't his fault.

"Twice in one day, huh?" she commented, straightening up. "Guess I'd better watch where I'm going."

Jayden smiled shyly at her, and Casey tried to find a hint of Derek in the boy's face, but she couldn't do it. She saw no similarities between Derek and Jayden, despite the fact that their hair was the same colour. She crouched down next to Jayden, laying her chin on her hand, which rested on her knee.

"What are you writing?" Casey asked, trying to look, but he hauled the notebook back, panic written across his features. Sensing he wanted to keep his writing private, Casey moved back a little, so that the page of the notebook was out of sight and she didn't seem so intimidating to him. Jayden relaxed instantly, and his body loosened up a bit.

"It's nothing." Jayden said, shrugging. "Who are you anyway?"

"I'm Casey MacDonald."

"Oh." Jayden said, his voice showing clear disappointment. He sighed and returned his gaze to the paper in front of him. "Old news."

"What?" Casey asked, vaguely offended by this statement.

"Old news." Jayden repeated, as though it were obvious. "I've heard about you."

"Derek's, uh, talked about me?" Casey asked akwardly, not sure whether this was a good or a bad thing. "What does he say?"

"Can't tell you." Jayden dismissed. "It's a secret."

"Alright then." Casey said, confused. She glanced at the chain around his neck. It had two dog tags on it. One, she couldn't read, but the other she caught a glance of, and saw that it read J.B . Casey studied it carefully for a moment.

"What's J.B stand for?" she asked curiously, unable to figure it out herself. The boy looked up at her for a moment, confused. Casey motioned towards the chain. "On the tags; J.B."

"Oh, that." he said, sounding bored as he turned back to his notepad. "It's my Mom's initials. J.B; Jenna Bailey. She owned this before she died. The other one's got my Daddy's initials."

"That's .. cute." Casey said, racking her brain for any recognition of the name Jenna Bailey. Hard as she tried, she couldn't remember anyone by that name. It didn't matter. She found herself cursing the name silently inside her mind over and over again. She found herself feeling guilty for doing so as she remembered that the woman was already dead, and that she was the mother of the child sitting right in front of her; but she couldn't help it.

'Yep." Jayden said, still writing. His voice was suddenly proud as he said, "They're in love."

"Clearly." Casey said, almost bitterly. "But, uh, isn't your mother .."

"She died." Jayden confirmed, nodding. "But my Daddy still loves her. More than anyone else in the world. He never stopped."

''Did .. did your father tell you that?" Casey asked, her heart clenching in her chest. She hated hearing how much Derek loved someone else. She knew it shouldn't bother her, but she told herself that it was because, if what Jayden said was true, then what she and Derek had shared had never been real. She hated to think that she'd wasted four years of her life on someone who had been using her; someone who had loved someone else. 'More than anyone else in the world,' Jayden had said. 'He never stopped.' Did that mean that Derek had never loved her as much as he had claimed he did? Jayden looked up and shook his head at her.

"No." he said simply, looking confused. "Derek told me."

Casey sat there for a moment, confused as hell.

_'Damn, I need a Tylonol.' _she thought to herself desperately. Ever since she had come here, she had felt nothing but akward, and confused. First she had no clue who the kid was, then she thought he was Derek's, and now .. she had no clue what to think. Nothing was making any sense to her anymore.

"Isn't .. isn't Derek your father?" Casey asked, uanble to think of anything else to say. Jayden looked up at her, eyebrows knitted together. "I just thought.."

''Derek's not my father." Jayden said, shaking his head and laying his notepad on the floor next to him, making sure it was closed. "Not my real one anyway. My real one died."

"So Derek .. adopted you?" Casey asked, still unable to make any sense of the situation. Once again, Jayden shook his head.

"Nuh-uh." he said. "My Daddy wanted Derek to take care of me. He said so himself. He had it written down and everything."

Casey finally understood. Derek had clearly been friends with Jayden's father, and once he had died, he had been asked to take care of Jayden. It must have said so in his father's will. Casey had to admit it; Derek must have been a pretty good friend for someone to trust his son in someone else's care for the rest of their life. It was one thing to trust someone with a secret, or to be a loyal friend. But to trust someone with the most precious thing in the world, your own flesh and blood .. that took a lot of faith. Thinking back to how playful Derek was with Jayden, and how well the two of them seemed to get along, she had to say that Derek seemed like he was doing a pretty good job of it. They seemed really close. She gave Jayden a friendly smile.

"Well I'm glad to have met you Jayden." she said, standing up. ''Ill see you at dinner."

Jayden nodded and reached for his notepad again. Before Casey had reached her old bedroom, she paused and turned around again, biting her lip.

"Jayden?" she said, and the little boy looked up. "Just out of curiousity .. how long are you and Derek staying here for?"

''A week." Jayden said happily, before returning to his writing.

A week. Casey went into her old bedroom and slumped down against the wall. A whole week of putting up with Derek. She didn't know if she could do it. She'd only been here an hour and already Derek's presence was driving her crazy. How could she last six more days of this madness? She sighed. Whatever happened, she was just going to have to suck it up and make the best of a bad situation.

* * *

**There we have it, people! Chapter six. Please, don't hesitate to click that wonderful button that you see below, and give me a review on this chapter :) **


	7. Male Bonding

**School is started again, so it might take a little longer to update, but I'll try my best! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter Seven: Male Bonding**

The first night of both Casey and Derek's stay was unbearably akward, particularily around dinnertime. Everybody was there, of course. Edwin and Lizzie, who didn't live too far away from their parent's house, were used to being there. According to George, they came over for dinner about three times a week. The two twenty one year olds seemed to socialize easily with the rest of the family, as did a fifteen year old Marti, who wouldn't stop talking about how annoying her most recent boyfriend, Jackson, was. Their parents were pretending to listen to her, but it was easy to tell that this common occurance just wasn't interesting to them anymore.

Casey and Derek sat through the meal akwardly, avoiding eye contact with everybody and speaking only when spoken to. Cole got along with the rest of the family easily, being the sociable guy that he was. Jayden sat at Derek's side, glancing around nervously at the Venturi-MacDonald family. Derek, of course, knew that Jayden was always shy when he was first put into a group of people. Once he got used to it, he could be the life of any outing, but he was always like this for at least a couple of hours. Halfway through the meal, Derek decided to put an end to his silence in the hopes of making Jayden feel comfortable. He tried to say things that would get Jayden involved in a conversation.

"So Jay," he said, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, earning him a disgusted look from Lizzie, which he chose to ignore. "Why don't you tell Lizzie about that goal you scored in soccer last week? You know, the one that won your team the game?"

Jayden shot Lizzie a hesitant look, before looking back up at Derek with wide eyes, almost as though he couldn't believe that Derek would suggest such a thing. Derek gave Lizzie a pointed look, and she gave a slight nod, smiling warmly at the little boy.

"Yeah Jayden." she said, trying her best to sound friendly. "I'd love to hear about it. Did Derek tell you that I used to be in soccer when I was a little bit older than you?"

Jayden seemed to instantly warm up to Lizzie, and some of the fear drained from his face. He looked at her with something like respect, and gave a sheepish grin.

"You played soccer?" he asked shyly, in a voice barely over a whisper. The whole table was silent to allow Jayden to speak freely. Lizzie nodded, and the boy's eyes lit up. Derek knew instantly that Lizzie had won Jayden over. She'd be high up on his list of favourites for the rest of her life, so long as she liked soccer.

"Yeah Jayden." Casey suddenly spoke up, a soft smile on her face. Jayden glanced over at her. "Lizzie is great at soccer. She's on her university team and everything. Maybe if you practice hard enough, you can get onto a team like that when you're older."

Derek saw Jayden's eyes light up when Casey mentioned him playing for a real team. Derek knew how much Jayden loved soccer. He was literally obsessed. Not only that, but he was an excellent player. Derek had attended almost every one of Jayden's games since the kid was five, and he had seen what a little kid's soccer league was like. It was filled with the best and the worst, the kids who wanted to be there because they loved to play, and the kids who were there because their parents wanted them to be involved in something athletic. And then, there was the parents themselves, who spent the duration of the games standing on the sidelines and cheering, whether their kids were good or not. Derek was one of those people who preferred to congratulate and praise his player after the game, in private, mainly because he didn't want to act like an idiot, and not only that, Jayden preferred it too. He had to admit though, Jayden was one of the best players in the entire league, and he wasn't just saying that out of pride. But until he was older, he would be stuck in a league of kids who really didn't know whether or not soccer was even their passion. So it was understandable that he would be excited when Casey mentioned the possibilty of a real future in soccer. His face lit up, and he shot her a hopeful smile.

"Really?" he asked, his courage growing stronger and stronger by the minute. Casey gave him a genuine smile and nodded. Jayden sat up a little straighter, and tried to act casual as he guided a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. Derek glanced over at Casey, who had returned to eating her supper. He couldn't help but smile at the way she had just practically killed what had been left of Jayden's akward demeanor. She was amazing with kids; he had always known that. He had always privately thought that she would make an excellent mother. He was snapped from his thoughts when George spoke up.

"So Cole," he started, waving his fork at the young man sitting next to Casey. Cole looked up in recognition of his name. George swallowed the food that he had just taken into his mouth before proceeding with the question. "How's the job at the law firm going? Did you finish up that case you were working on when I last saw you?"

Cole gave George a smile, the kind that Derek knew all too well as one that was used to impress one's superiors, in any given situation.

"As a matter of fact, sir, I did." he said, wiping the corners of his mouth with the napkin that lay to his right. Derek raised an eyebrow at him. He couldn't help but wonder why Casey hadn't snatched this guy up; not that he was complaining. He had perfect manners, the seemingly perfect job, and looked to be fairly organized. He tuned back in just as Cole was finishing retelling the story of the case at hand. "-and of course, after that, we had them. Won the case, no competition."

"That's what I like to hear." George said with a grin. Derek rolled his eyes. His father always acted like a bigshot when he was around other lawyers. Edwin took a sip of his soda and turned to Cole.

''So, uh, Cole," he started, sounding fairly embrassed, and indeed, he had turned a positive shade of scarlet. Cole gave him a cautious look, ceasing all movement. Derek watched as his brother gave Cole a sheepish grin. "How'd the arm heal up after?"

There was silence at the table for a moment, before everybody, minus Derek and Jayden, burst into laughter. Derek glanced around the table, realizing that he had clearly missed something funny. He rasied an eyebrow.

"Sorry; did I miss something?" he asked, not trying to sound annoyed, even if he was. He absolutely hated being left in the dark. He thought that nobody had heard him, and was just about to repeat himself, when Cole started to control his breathing, placing a hand on his knee for support. His face was red, and his mouth was still turned into a smile, but he did manage to speak .

"Sorry Derek," he said, as the rest of them started to calm down enough to listen. "It's just, the last time I was here, your little brother managed to catch my shirt on fire."

Derek glanced over at Edwin with a mixture of amusement and surprise on his face. He found himself privately wishing that Edwin could catch more of Casey's male guests on fire, but he knew that this was only wishful thinking. It figures that Edwin would do damage to the one guy that Derek didn't consider to be much of a threat.

"How'd he manage that?" he asked, shoving a forkful of food into his mouth. Casey shot him the same look of disgust that she did every other time he had done this back in high school, but it was not followed by the usual cry of 'Derek! You're disgusting!' that he had grown used to.

"Well we were out at the barbeque, and he somehow managed to catch one of the steaks on fire." Cole explained, cutting his chicken into careful squares with his knife. Derek privately found this to be a bit too proper, but he chose to let Cole continue instead of commenting. "Anyway, he was in such a rush to put it out that he speared it with the knife and tried to flick it over the edge of the patio. What he didn't realize is that I had just ran to get the fire extinguisher, and was coming back onto the patio. The steak caught my sleeve on fire, and I wound up getting a skin graft."

Derek had to supress laughter as he saw Edwin blush and shove a forkful of potatoes into his mouth, his head bowed shamefully over his plate.

"And we thought Casey was bad with cooking," Derek said, not really thinking about what he was saying. He grinned, and her head shot up, revealing her widened eyes.

"Not a word!" she said menacingly, a blush creeping onto her own cheeks. Derek rolled his eyes and looked away, realizing that it wasn't worth it to start an innocent little argument. They always resulted in the huge fights that would somehow lead back to what went wrong in their relationship, and then one of them always left. Cole, however, did not notice this, and appeared to be curious as to what Derek was talking about. Casey clearly hadn't told him about the fire she had started when her father had visited her in high school.

"Casey is bad with cooking?" he said, his face scrunched up in confusion. "You could've fooled me. She always cooks for me back at home."

Derek nearly choked over the food that he had been swallowing. Edwin patted him on the back, trying to get him to breathe again as he coughed and sputtered for air. Marti pushed his drink towards him, and he took a gulp, allowing him to steal grateful breaths of air. Casey was looking at him curiously, probably wondering why he had reacted that way.

"Sorry," he started, once he had enough air to communicate properly. "But did you say home? As in, you guys, you live together?"

"Well, not really," Cole said, sitting back in his seat again when it was clear that Derek was okay. "But we might as well. I don't live too far from her, and I spend all of my time at her apartment anyway."

"Yeah, he only sleeps at home about three nights out of the week." Casey commented, looking right at Derek as she spoke. He knew that she took notice of the jealous look that was plastered stupidly across his face, and he knew that she was feeling rather triumphant about it, judging by the way she seemed to straighten up as she spoke. "I mean, we work together anyway, so we're headed towards the same place in the morning. Besides, he's great company, aren't you Coley?"

"Don't call me that," Cole said with a scowl, as she ruffled his hair up. Derek knew that Cole and Casey weren't together or anything, but he couldn't help but feel insanely jealous. This guy seemed to have everything that Derek had to live without. The cute little nicknames that he had always pretended to hate, the way she would ruffle his hair, the way she said 'I love you', even if it was only fooling around, and the way that they always seemed to be all over one another. Sure, they were great friends, but did they have to display it to the whole world? And why did he have to spend so much time at her apartment? From the conversation he'd overheard between his father and Cole before dinner, he knew that Cole's parents were filthy rich, and that he had a very nice apartment not too far from Casey's. He slumped down in his seat and poked at his food, not in much of a mood to eat it anymore.

"Sit up straight and eat your vegetables, young man." came a voice to his right that Derek didn't really take notice of. Derek turned, expecting to be met with his father's stern look, but he instead saw Jayden looking up at him, trying to keep a straight face. He opened his mouth to protest but the look on Jayden's face was too priceless to even argue with. Derek rolled his eyes playfully and sat up a little bit straighter, making small attempts to eat his food.

"Doesn't know what's good for him." Jayden mumbled, as he shook his head and returned to his dinner. George raised an eyebrow at Derek, who shrugged, reminding himself once again that he had one very strange kid on his hands.

----------

After dinner, Nora and George had to attend a meeting at the high school about a school-sponsored summer trip to Europe that Marti would be taking in a couple of weeks. Nora had been terribly distraught upon remembering that the meeting was that night, and had repeated over and over how sorry she was. Casey had assured her time and time again that it was perfectly okay, and that they'd be fine, but Nora still had a guilty look on her face by the time Casey ushered her out the door.

"And I thought _you _were a little too crazy with the guilt thing," Cole said, his eyebrows raised as Casey sat next to him on the couch. Casey laughed and turned to look at the TV. Derek had control of the remote and was, of course, watching the hockey game. Derek waited expectantly for the argument over the remote to start, but it didn't come.

"Oilers are awesome this season." she commented, stifling a yawn. She lay her head down against Cole's shoulder as Derek turned to look at her with surprise. He nearly dropped the remote.

"What happened to you?" Derek asked, confusion etched clearly across his face. Casey glanced over at him, clearly not understanding what he meant. He nodded towards the screen, and back at her. "You hate hockey."

"I _did _hate hockey," she corrected him, turning back to the TV. "But I'm with Cole all the time, and he loves it. Eventually, I just got used to it. I still don't like it, but I can tolerate it."

"You lived with me for like, five years, and you couldn't get used to hockey, but now you can?" Derek asked, a doubtful look on his face. "How the hell does that work?"

"Easy," she replied, turning to him with a cold smile on her face. "I don't live in a house where someone is constantly bragging of their own achievements anymore. It's a lot easier to like something when you don't have to listen to someone boasting about it twenty four seven."

"I didn't brag or boast." he snapped defensively, narrowing his eyes at her dangerously. He was glad that Jayden had gone over to play with the Davis' relatives again, because he had a feeling that if this escalated into another fight, there would be some harsh language involved, and he didn't need Jayden picking up on anymore of his vulgar language.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you bragged," she said, settling back down. He could hear the anger draining from her voice quickly, almost as though she didn't want to fight anymore than he did. "Point is, I don't hate hockey anymore. That's what happens when people don't see each other for a long time, Derek. People change, you know."

"Bit hypocritical of you, don't you think, Case?" he asked, almost whispering. His voice was laced with regret and pain as he spoke again. "I hate how you can sit there and lecture me about not seeing that you've changed, but yet you wouldn't give a guy who called you for two weeks straight a chance to show he had changed."

Casey's eyes shot up to meet his, and he could have sworn for a moment that she was going to yell at him. He almost wished she would, because he hated the pity that was clear in her eyes a moment later.

"I'm not having this discussion with you." she said in monotone, before getting up and rushing across the room, darting up the stairs. A moment later, he heard a door slam upstairs, and he winced. He slumped down even further into his recliner and placed his chin on his fist angrily, glaring at the TV as though willing it to catch on fire.

"Well that went beautifully." he muttered through gritted teeth. "It didn't take as long as I thought it would for a fight to break out."

"There's clearly some unresolved tension between the two of you," Cole stated, earning himself a glare from Derek, who was was very much tempted to sarcastically thank him for pointing out the obvious. Cole noticed the look that Derek was giving him, and rushed on before Derek's anger turned physical. "A big blowup was bound to happen."

Derek's eyes widened and he gave a choked laugh, looking from Cole, to the stairs, and back to Cole again.

"A big .. you.. we.. you think _that_ was a big blowup?" he stammered out, showing every sign of wanting to burst into laughter. Cole raised an eyebrow, and Derek snorted. "_That_, my friend, was an example of civil conversation, with us."

"I've heard," Cole stated, sighing. Confusion played on Derek's face, and he went on. "Casey's told me a lot about you guys, and how much you fight."

Derek tensed, and turned quickly to face Cole. Just how much did he know? Had she simply told him that he was her stepbrother, and that they had a tendency of doing a lot of fighting? Did he know that they had been engaged, and thought, like they told so many others, that it simply 'hadn't worked out'? Or did he know everything; from their relationship, to their engagement, to their bitter breakup. He switched off the TV, no longer interested in the game.

"How much do you know?" he asked nervously. Cole blushed a little, shifting uncomfortably in his spot. Derek could tell that he hadn't meant to let it slip that he knew about Derek and Casey's relationship, but it was out now, and he had to explain himself.

"Pretty much everything," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I met Casey a little while after it all happened and she told me the whole story."

Derek suddenly felt akward in Cole's presence. Here he was, absolutely clueless about the guy in front of him, and yet Cole probably knew everything that there was to know about Derek. Derek didn't even know the guy's last name, and he was willing to bet that Cole knew not only his last name, but his middle name, his past faults, maybe even his interests. With Casey, anything could have been let out into the open. She was a girl, after all, and they weren't exactly the most silent of creatures. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair carelessly.

"Oh," he said, trying to think of something to say to ease the tension. "So, uh, I guess you think I'm a pretty big jerk then, if you know what happened with me and Casey."

A surprised look swept over Cole's face, and he widened his eyes. Much to Derek's surprise, Cole shook his head.

"Not at all," he said, looking bewildered. Derek gave him a pointed look, and he sighed, looking defeated. "Look, Derek, I know that you cheated on Casey and everything, but I hold no personal grudge against you. From what I can tell, you're an okay guy; you just messed up. You were what, nineteen? We all do stupid things every once in a while."

Derek snorted.

"Tell that to Casey." he grumbled, the sound of her slamming door still echoing through his ears painfully.

"Yeah, well, Casey's stubborn, but most girls are." he said, shrugging. "I mean, don't get me wrong, cheating on someone isn't something that can be easily forgiven." he trailed off for a moment, thinking. "Apparantly, a lot of things are unforgiveable. And, of course, some of us spend the rest of our lives regretting them, but .."

Cole trailed off, staring off into space at something Derek clearly couldn't acknowledge. Derek knew that look all too well; it was one that he himself often wore when he was thinking about how much emotional pain he had inflicted on Casey.

"Sounds like you've had a bit of girl trouble in your past too." Derek noted, half hoping that he was right. He wouldn't feel like as big of an asshole if he found out that even seemingly perfect Cole had a flaw too. But, oddly enough, when Cole nodded his head, Derek didn't feel the sense of relief that he thought this news would bring.

"Her name was Kallie," Cole started before Derek even had a chance to ask him anything. His voice was hollow, almost as though speaking of this was painful. Derek couldn't blame him; he knew the feeling. "We met when we were twelve, when she moved in down the street. My mom became fast friends with her parents, and we were forced together a couple of times a week, for dinners and outings." he paused for a moment, before letting out a faint laugh. "We hated each other."

"Sounds a lot like-"

"You and Casey, I know." Cole laughed, giving him a lopsided smile. Derek propped his feet up on the footrest, interested in hearing about someone else's love life for a change. There was silence for a moment before Cole continued.

"Anyway, by the time we were fourteen, we had gotten to know each other well enough to tolerate being in the same room for short periods of time." Cole went on, lying back on the couch and placing a pillow behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling as he spoke. "That was around the time that her parents divorced, and for some reason, she confided in me. I went over to her house to return a book that my mother had borrowed from her's, and I found her crying on her front step. She told me that she had seen it coming and everything, but it still hurt."

"It does hurt," Derek said, remembering his own parent's divorce. "All the fighting and disagreeing can really have an impact on a kid after a while."

Cole gave a sad smile and nodded in agreement.

"I know it can," he said, biting his lip. "My parents divorced when I was eight, and because of that, I was able to help her through the divorce a bit. By the time her father moved to Manhattan to stay with his brother for a while, we were the best of friends. And of course, being fourteen and having a girl for a best friend .."

"You fell for her, huh?" Derek guessed, having heard this type of story so many times before. Cole frowned and nodded.

"Yeah, and I fell hard." he informed Derek, a lost look in his eyes. "Everybody could see it, except her. They all told me to go for it, that I should just tell her how I felt. So when I was sixteen, after keeping it in for two years, I finally told her how I felt; but it turned out she didn't feel the same way."

Derek felt a stab of pity for poor Cole. He could only imagine what it would have felt like to be shot down by the girl you were in love with. At least when Casey broke up with him, he knew that she hadn't stopped loving him. But to be flat out shot down, not even given a chance .. that had to hurt.

"Ouch." he said, grimacing. "Sorry to hear that. But I'm guessing something happened to change that?"

Cole seemed to brighten a little bit, clearly remembering something much more pleasant.

"Yeah, it did," he confirmed, nodding. "After I told her how I felt, we sort of avoided each other for a week or two. And as much as I didn't want to face the rejection, being away from her altogether was way too hard. So I told her that I wanted her to try and move past the fact that I liked her, and just be my friend again. It took a bit of adjusting, but she did it. My feelings for her never went away, but I made her think they had. I dated other girls so that she wouldn't have to feel sorry for me. Things went good until the junior prom, when I told her I wanted to ask Becky Moores to go with me."

''And?" Derek asked, taking a sip of his root beer, and placing it back down on the coffee table again. "How'd that go?"

"She freaked out at me and told me that she'd shot down twelve guys while she waited for me to stop being such an idiot and ask her out already." Cole said, smiling despite himself. "Turns out, she'd started liking me a little while after I started dating other girls. She said she realized then that she had feelings for me, but she thought that I'd moved on. So I took her to prom, and we hit it off great. We started going out the next day, and that was that. We were one of those couples that everybody was jealous of. You know, the couple that everybody thought thought was immune to the rest of the world. That's sort of the way Casey described you guys."

Derek couldn't help but smile. He had always thought of them like that, and it made him feel a bit better to know that Casey always had too.

"So what happened to change all that?" he asked, as he heard Casey's stereo turn on upstairs in her old bedroom. He rolled his eyes. Girls; they were such drama queens, and Casey was oh so good at it, too. Cole too, paused to acknowledge that music had started playing, but then shook himself from his trance and continued with his explanation.

"To make a long story short, I messed everything up." he said, letting out a deep breath. He seemed to know what Derek was thinking, because he quickly rushed on. "I know what you're going to ask, and, no, I didn't cheat on her."

"You're a better man than I am, then." Derek sighed, remembering the hurt look that had crossed Casey's face when she had walked in on him and the other girl making out in their bedroom. He winced, and tried to focus on the conversation again.

"I didn't cheat on her, but I hurt her pretty badly, anyway." Cole said, sighing. "We had both been applying for a bunch of different universities by the time senior year rolled around. Now, Kallie, she was one of those super smart girls,"

"Like Casey?"

Cole nodded.

"Just like Casey," he confirmed, a half smile on his face. "So, understandably, people expected her to get into a top notch university. As for me, I was attending the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law. My parents already had the money put aside for it, and with my grades, I got in without question."

''And Kallie?" Derek asked, recognizing in the back of his mind that Cole being an altogether genius was just another reason why Casey could fall for him. She had always liked smart guys, even if Derek hadn't exactly been at the top of the academic ladder. He reminded himself that, if him and Cole were opposites, and Casey had fallen in love with him, then that most likely meant that she couldn't fall for Cole. Or, it could mean that she had never actually loved Derek, but he didn't want to think about that.

"Kallie got accepted to some top of the line university out in British Columbia," Cole said bitterly. Derek cringed, knowing where this was going. "She came to me a week after I had gotten accepted to UoT, and told me that she had gotten her acceptance letter from the university in BC, and that she was going. God, Derek, she was so excited about it too. I think it was one of the best moments of her life, from the look in her eyes. And I ruined it all for her."

Derek remained silent, not quite sure what Cole meant by this statement.

"I yelled at her, and told her that our relationship clearly didn't mean a thing to her if she was going to just run off and forget about us," Cole said, his voice lined with remorse. "She told me that it wasn't like that, and that she was willing to make things work out, long distance. She promised that she'd come home for Christmas, summers, and Thanksgiving, and even the odd weekend that she could squeeze in, and that she would move back after she finished school. But I wasn't really up for listening to anything she had to say. I told her that I wasn't willing to have a relationship with someone who was going to be four provinces away from me, and that if she wanted to go to BC for school, she had better hope that they had some pretty good guys there, because she was going to be needing a new one."

Derek studied Cole closely. He couldn't imagine such words coming out of Cole's mouth. He just seemed like such a caring sort of guy, the sort of guy who would never hurt a girl. Casey was his best friend, after all, and she didn't exactly put up with guys like that. But then Derek reminded himself that he hadn't seemed like the sort of guy that would cheat on Casey; but he had. People could do some pretty stupid things when they were under the influence of alchohol, or even their own emotions, like Cole.

"She was crying at this point." Cole said, wincing at the memory. "I felt bad, but I couldn't stop flipping out at her. It was like, I had to do anything and everything to make her stay, and threatening to end our relationship was the best thing I could come up with. She stopped crying long enough to acknowledge that I wasn't thinking clearly, and told me that she was going to give me a couple of days to rethink things, and clear my head. She left my house, and we didn't talk to each other for a few days. Her eighteenth birthday party was that Friday and I, uh, I didn't show up."

Derek's eyes widened, and knew that disbelief was written clearly across his features. Cole may not have cheated on Kallie, but he was pretty sure that Cole had inflicted just as much pain upon her as Derek had on Casey.

"You didn't show up?" Derek repeated, awestruck. "Whoah, I'll bet that got her pretty, uh, pissed. How'd she take it?"

'Badly," Cole said, trying not to show too much emotion in his voice, but Derek could tell the memories were nearly killing him. "What's worse was that I called her the day after and told her that I was sorry I had missed her party, and that I was willing to work things out long distance."

"You would've been able to be away from her?" Derek asked, trying to think of what he would have done if Casey had moved away for university when they were together. It only took him a moment to realize that, like Cole, he would have been initially mad, but he knew that he wouldn't have been able to end things, in the end.

"It wasn't that I wanted her to go, it was that I didn't want to make her choose one of the other universities and ruin chances at the future she really wanted, while I went to the school I wanted to go to."

Derek nodded in understanding.

"That's mature," he noted, feeling a bit of respect for Cole. Cole laughed.

"Kallie didn't think so," he said, the laughter dying away quickly. "She told me that I'd ruined my chances, and that I was right, there were plenty of other guys in BC for her to be with, and that they probably weren't insensitive pigs like I was. She hung up on me, and, hard as I tried, I haven't talked to her since."

"Ouch." Derek commented, thinking to himself that relationships brought too much heartache, for everyone. "What she said was, uh, sort of harsh."

Cole didn't even give himself time to think about what Derek had said. He shrugged one shoulder carelessly, one side of his mouth turning upwards in a smile.

"Maybe," he agreed, tilting his head to the side. "But I deserved it, didn't I?"

Derek sighed. He hated to admit it, but Cole did deserve to hear what Kallie had said to him, just like he, himself, had deserved every one of Casey's bitter words over the years. Just like had had deserved the few punches she'd gotten in before storming out on him. Just like they both deserved the years of solitude and hurt that had followed their irresponsible acts of ignorance and disrespect against the girls they loved. Girls were always excellent with payback; and when it came to relationships, they were the masters of revenge. And this time, when he looked at Cole, he didn't see him as the perfect, top of the line idiot that spent way too much time with Casey. He saw him as a guy that had messed up, and had learned from his mistakes. Just like him. Derek gave Cole a lopsided smile and leaned forwards, holding out his fist to Cole.

"You're not half bad, you know that, right?" Derek said. Cole looked Derek right in the eye, knowing that this was Derek's way of telling him that he was accepting him, and that he didn't resent him for being so close with Casey. He gave Derek a small smile and bumped his fist against the one in front of him.

"You're not too awful either, Venturi." he said, before Derek settled back down and flicked the TV on, tuning back into the game that they had been watching before.

* * *

**There is a bit of background on what happened with Cole and his girlfriend. Guess it made Derek feel a bit better. Anyways, review, and more shall follow :) **


	8. Apologies and Compliments

**Disclaimer: On top of school starting, which is depressing enough as it is, someone recently informed me that I don't own LWD. I know, rude huh? Pfft. **

**Chapter Eight: Apologies and Compliments**

Casey lay on top of her old bed, staring at the ceiling. She should have known that coming here was a mistake. Something always went wrong, so why should this time be any different? Of course stupid _Derek _had to show up and ruin everything. It would have been a whole lot easier if only he had stayed home. It said a lot that it was their first night there, and they were already fighting. And how dare he make a comment about her not giving him a second chance? What self respecting human being would give a guy a second chance after he had been moments away from sleeping with another girl, on their own anniversary, no less? She didn't mean to be a drama queen, but she really didn't think that this was something that could be easily forgiven. Seeing Derek making out with some other girl that he didn't even know the name of had killed her, and she wasn't afraid to admit it. She had ached for the longest time afterwards, and it had taken her forever to get over it. Derek had messed up her life by cheating on her. Because even now, four years after they had broken up, she was afraid to have a relationship for fear of being hurt again. And that was all Derek's fault.

Knowing that she had to get back up eventually, she forced herself to walk towards the door. Opening it, she didn't hear any sound, so she could only assume that everybody was gone out, or that there just wasn't much going on. She had a feeling that Cole would have told her if they were going out anywhere, so she made her way downstairs into the empty living room. Frowning, she moved on into the kitchen to see Cole leaning up against the counter, a glass of juice in hand.

"Casey, hey." he said, smiling at her. She returned the smile and gave a vague nod to greet him. He hoisted himself up onto the counter and watched her curiously. "So you finally decided to come downstairs? What's it been now? Two and a half hours?"

Casey shrugged, taking a seat at one of the bar stools at the counter and propping her chin up in her hands.

"Something like that," she sighed, a bored expression on her face. "Where's the other one gone?"

"Oh, you mean Derek?" Cole asked, earning himself a pointed look from Casey. "He went to get Jayden from the Davis', and Jayden wanted ice cream, so they're picking something up."

Casey sighed with relief, glad that Derek wasn't home, but yet vaguely disappointed that he hadn't just packed up and gone home. Cole seemed to sense what was on her mind and spoke up.

"You know, Case, Derek's not that bad." he said, causing her head to shoot up in surprise. "I mean, don't get me wrong, what he did to you was out of line, but he's a guy."

"Just because he's a guy doesn't give him the right to go out and cheat on me on our anniversary, Cole." Casey said bitterly, glaring at her best friend. "I can't believe you're defending the guy. He's such an arrogant pig. He actually had the nerve to call me a hypocrite? Does he honestly think that I would have just taken him back when he cheated on me because he called me for two weeks? That means nothing."

"He seems like he regrets it." Cole pointed out, draining what was left of his juice and placing his glass in the sink next to him. Casey gave him a doubtful look.

"Derek's an amazing liar, did I ever tell you that?" she said, tilting her head. "He's the master of deception. Don't let him fool you into thinking he's this innocent, caring guy that actually has the slightest bit of remorse in his body. I fell for his lies once, and I wound up engaged to the guy. I'm not letting you get sucked into his web of deception, too."

"No worries, Casey, I have no plans on getting engaged to Derek." Cole said jokingly. Casey made a face at him, and he grinned at her.

"Seriously, Cole." she said, grabbing an apple from the basket that was lying out on the counter. She bit into it, and chewed, before she looked back up at her friend. "Derek may seem sweet, but he's really not. Don't let him fool you, okay?"

"Casey, he really seems like he regrets everything he did to you." Cole said, remembering the look on Derek's face as he spoke of his and Casey's relationship. Casey sighed, getting fed up with her ex-fiancé's ability to mask his true colours.

"Even if that were _true_, I don't like the guy." Casey said, deciding that it was best to stop trying to convince Cole of Derek's narcissism. "We broke up four years ago, and any sympathy I had for him disappeared along with our relationship. All he is to me now is my ex-fiancé, who I am most unfortunately forced into a room with once or twice a year. I just hope that you'll see that by the end of this trip."

Before Cole had a chance to respond, the back door opened up, and Derek walked in with Jayden tagging along behind him. He froze when he saw that Casey was in the kitchen. He walked slowly towards the counter, laying a brown paper bag on it and propping his elbows up against it.

"Ice cream's on me." he said, with a smirk on his face.

"Awesome!" Cole and Jayden said at the same time. Cole retrieved a couple of bowls out of the cupboard, and Derek scooped ice cream into each of the bowls. He handed one to Cole, and one to Jayden, before turning to Casey and extending one to her.

"Ice cream?" he offered, his voice sounding a bit shaky. Casey's eyes shot up to meet his, and he offered her a small smile. "It's your favourite. Cotton candy."

Casey couldn't help but smile at that. She didn't think he remembered the stupid little stuff like her favourite flavour of ice cream. He kept his hand extended to her, as though the ice cream was a peace offering, even though they both knew very well that they would never be at peace with each other.

"You do remember that these sorts of ice cream rot your teeth, don't you?" she asked, but took the bowl from him anyway. Derek reached in the drawer for a spoon and handed her one of those too, as he smirked.

"It's still your favourite though, right?" he asked, a knowing tone in his voice. She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Maybe." she said shamefully, bowing her head back down. A smile crept onto Cole's face, and he glanced down at Jayden.

"Hey, Jayden, what do you say we go check out some of Edwin's X-BOX games while he's gone?" he asked, licking his spoon clean. "He told me that he leaves a stash of his games in his room. We could check those out."

Jayden's eyes lit up with excitement. Derek's apartment had a Playstation 3, but Jayden had always played X-BOX when he lived with his father. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to take it with him when he moved in with Derek. He looked up at Derek, laying his ice cream dish down on the counter.

"Can I, Derek?" he begged his gaurdian, tugging on the hem of his shirt. "Please, please, _please_?"

Derek's eyes widened at his sudden child-like behaviour.

"Remind me not to give you sugar anymore," he commented, sighing. He waved a hand dismissively towards the stairs. "Go on, then, but if Edwin catches you rooting through his stuff, I had nothing to do with it."

Without another word, they had practically inhaled the rest of their ice cream, and footsteps could be heard running upstairs. Derek chuckled and turned back to Casey. She mashed some of her ice cream around, looking anywhere but at Derek.

"So, uh, how long are you here for?" Derek asked her, taking a seat on the stool across from her. She glanced up at him, relieved that he had been the one to start a conversation.

"Same as you," she informed him, scooping up a spoonful of ice cream. "A week."

She rather thought that his eyes brightened at that, but when she looked again, he was just nodding at her.

"That's cool." he said, his voice trailing off. She knew that he was dying to bring up what had happened earlier, and, soon enough, he did. "Look, Casey, I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier, alright? I didn't mean to bring up anything from before. I know you hate talking about it just as much as I do, and-"

''It's fine." she cut him off, finishing off her ice cream and pushing her dish towards the middle of the counter. "I probably shouldn't have jumped down your throat like that, anyway."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have." he commented, earning himself a glare from her. He laughed. "I'm kidding."

"Of course you are." she said, rolling her eyes. "It's fine, alright? I'm just here to see the family; I don't want to get into an argument anymore than you do."

"Yeah, I think we've done enough of that to last a lifetime." he sighed, finishing off his own ice cream. He placed his spoon down on the counter and sighed. "I can't promise you that we won't fight, because it's us, but let's try to keep it to a minimum around the family, alright? We don't need to put them through anymore of our problems. Deal?"

Casey thought for a moment, before nodding, and extending her hand. He shook it, and they both pulled back quickly at the contact, their eyes instantly darting away from each other.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Alright, Jay, when I count to three, you're going to run and jump, alright?" Derek was saying, as he leaned against the wall of the pool. Jayden, who was standing nervously on the platform of the diving board, shook his head, looking as though he wanted to be sick.

"I can't." he argued, his eyes darting from the edge of the diving board, and back down to the water. "It's too far."

"Come on, Jayden, it's not scary." Cole prompted him, floating around on his back. His ears were just above the water, so that he could hear what was going on. "Just close your eyes after you jump, and you won't be able to see yourself falling."

Jayden took a deep breath and nodded. Derek grinned at Cole, mouthing 'thank you'. Cole gave him the thumbs up, and the other two started to count him down.

"One,"

Jayden chewed on his bottom lip nervously.

"Two,"

They could see his legs shaking, and hesitance was dancing around his eyes visibly.

"Three!"

He took one step forward, and then stepped back again, shaking his head.

"I can't."

Derek sighed, and let his eyes wander over to where Casey was lying on a float, her sunglasses on, and a magazine spread across her lap. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted backwards, facing the sun. She was paying absolutely no attention to anything around her. In fact, she could have been asleep, judging by her lack of mobility. Derek had to remind himself to breathe everytime he looked at her; especially when she was wearing a bikini. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he smirked.

"Hey, Jayden." he whispered, and motioned for the boy to go towards the edge of the diving board. Reluctantly, Jayden crept towards the edge, and leaned down so that Derek could keep his voice down, and still be heard. When Derek finished speaking, Jayden smiled, and gave him the thumbs up . Cole shot the both of them a curious look, but Derek just shook his head at him. Jayden returned to the platform, and took a deep breath. Derek smiled, and took one more glance at Casey.

''Alright, bud." he said, leaning up against the pool wall again. Cole joined back in with him as he began the countdown.

"One, two, three!"

And this time, Jayden ran as fast as he could, running towards the edge. Hesitance crossed his face as he approached the end of the board, but he took Cole's advice, and closed his eyes, before bouncing once, and wrapping his arms tightly around his knees, aiming himself right towards the float where Casey was lying. Derek smirked and bit back laughter as Jayden plummeted into the water about a foot away from Casey. As the water splashed over Casey in a wave-like way, she shrieked, and jerked forwards, the impact of it sending her facefirst into the water. Derek cracked up laughing, and, hard as Cole tried to show some respect for his best friend, he started laughing too. As Jayden surfaced, he swam towards Derek, who high fived him.

Casey surfaced just in time to see this, and glared at him.

"Der-_ek!_" she cried angrily. She swam towards him, coming to a stop next to him and gripping the wall. "What is your _issue_?"

"_Me_?" Derek said innocently, placing a hand on his chest. "I'm not the one who cannonballed into the water and knocked you off your float!"

"You put him up to it!" she cried, splashing water at his face angrily. Derek laughed and shrugged his shoulders as though he didn't see her point. She huffed and glared at him as Jayden swam over to where Cole was trying to swim to the bottom of the deep end. Derek sighed and leaned his head back, letting the sun warm up his face and shoulders.

"You're awful, you know that, right?" she said, and he looked up to see her shaking her head at him, a tiny smile on her face, which she failed to hide. He shrugged, and she hoisted herself up onto the edge of the pool, keeping her legs dangling over the edge into the water. She looked out across the Davis' pool, where they were spending the afternoon while the Davis' drove into Kingston for a concert of some sorts.

"So how long has Jayden been staying with you?" she asked curiously, as Cole showed the little boy how to do a backstroke. Derek pulled himself up easily and sat next to her, making sure that there was at least half a foot of distance between them.

"About half a year, now." he said, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to get rid of some of the water that had collected itself there. "When Jeff, that's Jayden's father, died, he had temporary gaurdianship papers signed already. I didn't know about it, because he never had a chance to ask me. I guess he didn't really expect something like that to happen to him, but then again, who would? But he had thought ahead to what would happen to Jayden, and all I had to do was sign the forms that he'd already filled out, and I was given temporary gaurdianship for four years."

"What happens at the end of the four years?"

"I either let him go with a family member, or sign permanent gaurdianship papers, which I could do right now, if I went and got the forms, but we're holding off on the permanent stuff until we've got to. It's probably going to be a long process, so we're just going to go with the temporary gaurdianship until we've got to take action."

''Permanent gaurdianship," Casey said slowly, as though lost in thought. "You mean, like, adopt him?"

Derek nodded, watching as Jayden managed to move a couple of feet using the backstroke. Casey was chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully, and he could tell that she wanted to ask him something. He remained quiet until she finally found the courage to speak up again.

"Are you sure that's something you're ready for?" she asked, sounding almost embarassed to be asking that question. Derek turned to face her, and she seemed relieved that he didn't look offended by her statement.

"I'm going to _have_ to be ready for it, when the time comes." he told her, squinting in the sunlight. "The kid has been through hell and back, Case. You don't even know the amount of loss he's had to face in his life. Someone needs to be there for him, and I can't just let him pack up and leave again, not after he's gotten used to living with me. Unless he wants to, of course, but when the possibility of living with his grandparents came up before, he didn't seem too thrilled about it."

Derek glanced back out across the pool again, seeing the laughter that came from Jayden's direction as he bumped into the wall during his backstroke.

"That laughter wasn't there before." he commented. "He needs stability, and that's why I'm going to make sure that when the time comes, I'm ready for this. I'm still adjusting, but I'm sure that by the time the gaurdianship runs out, I'll be ready."

"I'm sure you will be." Casey said, and Derek could hear the sincerity in her voice. He turned his head, acknowledging her kindness, and she smiled softly. "I know me and you don't get along or anything, for the most part, anyway, but even I can admit that you're great with him."

Derek blushed, though it was hard to tell the difference in the sunlight. He found himself sitting up a little straighter as he let her compliment sink in.

"Thanks." was all he said, before slipping back down into the pool. He glanced back up at Casey. "You coming in with us, or what?"

Casey bit her lip, and Derek motioned for her to jump in.

"You're already wet, just get in already." he said. She stuck her tongue out at him, but slipped into the pool without another word. Derek shook his head at her. "Women!"

They barely spoke again for the rest of the afternoon, as they fooled around with Cole and Jayden. Eventually, Marti, Lizzie and Edwin showed up and joined them in a game of Marco Polo. Derek didn't really care that they didn't get another oppurtunity to speak to each other. The tiny conversation that they had managed to have without biting each other's heads off had been enough to keep Derek happy for the rest of the afternoon. That, and he was still glowing with the knowledge that she had complimented him. He knew that she still, essentially, disliked him, and was only trying to get along with him for the sake of their family, but he was starting to think that maybe there was the slightest chance that he could redeem himself, and try to become her friend again.

* * *

**Alright, so I'm still having a bit of writer's block. That, combined with school, combined with other things, has resulted in longer waits for updates, so sorry about that! Anyway, please review chapter eight! Yeah, Dasey is coming slow, but you all know I love Dasey! It'll be there! And yes, temporary gaurdianship is a real thing. I don't know much about the maximum or minimum times for it, but for this fic, it's four years :) **


	9. Getting Along

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot. I'm too lazy to say anything clever!**

**Chapter Nine: Getting Along**

By the time everybody had returned to the house for supper, they were exhausted, but relatively happy. They had been swimming since noon, with only a half an hour break in between, and it was safe to say that their stomachs were grumbling violently, and their skin was permanently pruny, or at least, it felt that way.

But by the time they had all dried off and had sat down at the table for dinner, they looked at least half presentable, even if most of their hair was still damp.

"How was swimming?" George asked them, glancing around at each of his kids and guests.

"It was great!" Jayden answered for them, stabbing at a baked potato with his fork. "Derek and Cole got me to jump into the deep end, and I knocked Casey off of her float."

Nora raised an eyebrow at this, turning towards Casey, who merely blushed and returned to her dinner. Before anybody could even comment on what Jayden had just said, he had rushed on.

"And Cole taught me how to do a backstroke, and Marti taught me to do a handstand _underwater._" he said, grinning proudly. "This guy, Mark, that was in my class this year, he can do a handstand, but not underwater. He's always showing off at reccess, but just wait until he sees that I can do something he can't."

Derek threw Jayden a cautious look, and cleared his throat, giving him a serious look. Casey could tell when Derek was about to say something serious, and, sure enough, this was one of those times.

"Uh, Jay, I'm not so sure it's a great idea to show off in front of Mark." Derek said. Jayden frowned, and he continued. "Don't you remember what happened last time?"

Jayden's face fell, and he nodded, chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully. Casey instantly knew that Jayden was disappointed, and apparantly, so did Derek, as he rushed to cheer the kid up.

"I'm not saying that you can't do it," Derek assured him, giving him a faint smile. "Just don't rub it in like he does, okay?"

"Right," Jayden said, slouching down in his seat and poking at his food without any real interest. Casey briefly wondered what the two boys were talking about, but decided that it probably wasn't any of her business. Nonetheless, that didn't mean that she couldn't try and cheer him up.

"Do you guys still have that program at school where you take skating during the winter, and swimming during the spring?" she asked, trying to start a conversation. Jayden looked up at her and nodded slowly, not saying a word. She gave him a suggestive smile and shrugged.

"Well maybe you could show some of your friends how to do it." she suggested. She opened her mouth to say more when she seen Derek shaking his head at her frantically, mouthing 'no' over and over again. She had no clue why he wanted her to stop, but, nonetheless, she did, and she looked down to see Jayden frowning down at his meal. She instantly realized that she had said something wrong. Jayden's attention was focused solely on his plate, and a blush had crept up into his cheeks, making him look oddly flushed. She managed to catch Derek's gaze, but he merely shook his head, as though telling her to drop it, and looked away. She made a mental note to ask him about it later, before turning to face her mother, who had just begun to speak.

"So Casey," she began, looking fairly hesitant. "How are things between you and Matt?"

"Matt?" Derek repeated, suddenly looking worried. She spared him a brief glance, before attempting to answer both questions.

"He's my on again, off again boyfriend," she explained, trying to ignore the jealousy that flickered across his face. Unable to block it out, she turned back to her mother. "We're taking a bit of a break." she finished, shrugging. Out of the corner of her eye, she seen both Derek and Cole watching her intently. She knew that Derek was probably just jealous, although she wasn't sure why he would be, but she had no idea why Cole was so interested. She locked her gaze with his questioningly, but he blushed and looked away.

"I thought you two were dating again?" Lizzie observed, pouring herself some more juice from the pitcher. Casey had to admit that this conversation was making her feel just a little more than akward. Although Matt was a nice guy, he just wasn't a very important person in her life. The two of them were famous for taking breaks, being together for length periods of time, and then calling it quits again. It had been like that for well over six months now, ever since they had met at a club in downtown Toronto. They had fun together, sure, but Casey knew that they both fully understood that the foundation of their relationship was nothing more than a vast physical attraction. What they shared was solely based around having someone to go out with from time to time. As much as Casey wanted to be able to call it a serious relationship, she knew it never would be. But she clung onto it desperately, because without it, she was alone again.

Realizing that her family was waiting for an answer, she forced a smile and shrugged.

"Summer is a really hectic time for the both of us," she dismissed. "But we've agreed to give things a try again when I get back."

She knew that her mother caught sight of Derek's annoyed expression, because a moment later, she changed the topic.

"So Derek, how's your love life going?"

The look that Derek had been wearing for the duration of the conversation suddenly disappeared, and he smirked at his stepmother.

"Nora, Nora, _Nora_," he said, shaking his head in dismay. "That's a bit personal, don't you think?"

"Well maybe," she agreed, rolling her eyes, "But you know, I figured since we've known each other for such a long time, you might want to give a curious parent a detail or two about your life from time to time."

Derek rolled his eyes playfully and gave in.

"Alright, fine." he sighed, pretending like it was a big deal. "You should already know this, but my dating life is going fine, okay? It's me. I could score fifty girls a week, if I really wanted to."

"And I'm sure you do," Casey grumbled under her breath, just loud enough for Derek to hear. The smirk faded away a tiny bit, but before he had a chance to speak, Jayden beat him to the punch.

"Derek goes out with _tons _of girls," he put in, suddenly upbeat again. "Last week he went out with Jenny, and Carly, and Melanie, and-"

"That's enough, Jayden." Derek said quietly, catching sight of the look on Casey's face. The little boy, however, didn't appear to have heard him.

"-and the week before that there was Brittany, and Maria, and Carla-"

"Stop," Derek repeated firmly, clearly trying to keep the anger from his voice. Jayden's mouth was hung open midsentence, and he looked up at Derek guiltily.

"Sorry," he said, giving Derek a sheepish grin before returning to his supper. Derek tried to look Casey in the eye, to see what her reaction was about all this, but she wouldn't look at him. She finished off the last bit of her supper, before wiping her mouth with her napkin and looking around the table.

"May I be excused?" she asked, momentarily forgetting her manners. Realizing that she had come off as a bit rude, she added; "Please?"

Her mother gave her a reluctant nod, and Casey stood up hastily, nearly knocking over her chair. She pushed it in, before leaving the room as quickly as she possibly could.

- - - -

An hour later, Casey was lying flat on her back on her old bed. Everything downstairs was strangely silent, and she could have sworn that she had heard the front door open and close, meaning that somebody had probably left. She could only assume that it had been Edwin and Lizzie, who usually didn't stick around for too long after dinner.

She was just considering going back downstairs to see what everyone was doing, when there was a knock on her door.

"Who is it?" she called out, half expecting it to be Cole.

"It's Derek." came the voice on the other side of the door.

Casey sat up a little bit straighter, and a moment later, the door opened up. Derek stepped into the room, one hand buried in his pocket and the other resting lightly on the doorknob. He closed the door behind him and took a step towards her bed, looking somewhat nervous.

He stuffed his other hand into his free pocket, and hunched his shoulders a bit, as though he wasn't quite sure on what he wanted to say to her. She gave him a pointed look, and he finally seemed to come to his senses.

"You okay?" he asked hesitantly, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. She knew that they both found this whole situation akward. Not only being in the same room, but staying in the same house for a week. They hadn't been forced to spend more than a day with each other since they had broken up, and now they were constantly being forced under the same roof, every single day. She shrugged, hugging her knees to her chest.

"I'm fine." she replied, nodding. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Derek opened his mouh to answer, but no words came out. He looked thoughtful for a moment or two, before closing his mouth and shrugging. She couldn't say she blamed him. It wasn't like they ever talked about anything personal anymore. He shifted uncomfortably in his spot.

"I don't know." he admitted. "You just didn't seem yourself at dinner. You were all .. distracted. And then when Jayden started talking about how I-"

"How you what?" she challenged, bitterness creeping into her voice despite herself. "How you're a filthy player? How you go through girls faster than someone goes through paper? How you're a heartbreaker, and you don't care about anything other than getting as many girls as you possibly can, regardless of who gets hurt in the process?"

Derek's mouth hung open stupidly, and she knew that he was taken aback by her outburst. She hadn't meant for it to slip out, but now that she started, she couldnt' stop.

"Jayden didn't say anything that I didn't already know, Derek." she reminded him angrily. "Trust me, I know that you're a player, and I know that you will never change your ways. I was stupid enough to think that you'd changed once before, remember? And just look how that turned out."

Derek swallowed nervously, clearly embarassed by everything that she was saying.

"I deserve that." he admitted, looking her right in the eye. "But what I don't deserve is all this mistrust that you continue to throw in my face. It was four years ago. I thought you'd moved on from it."

"We were _engaged, _Derek!" she yelled at him, not caring who heard her. He flinched, and she lowered her voice a tiny bit, though by no means entirely. "Did that mean nothing to you? Was I that easy to get over, when I left? Sorry if I actually thought I once meant something to you."

"You _did_!" Derek tried to tell her, his voice begging. Her face fell at his choice of words, and he desperately wanted to correct himself. He wanted to tell her that she still meant everything to him. But he couldn't do that. Not anymore. He knew his chances with Casey were long gone, and there was no sense in trying to get her back.

"If I meant so much to you, why'd you go and cheat on me, huh?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly. His face fell.

"Casey,"

"You asked me why I still don't trust you, four years later." she said quite calmly, though it was apparant that there was anger underneath it all. "That should be quite clear to you, Derek. I don't trust you, because you haven't given me a reason to trust you."

"You haven't given me a chance to _show _you!"

"I've moved on, alright?" she lied, looking away. "It's in the past, and I prefer not to dwell on it more than I have to."

Derek's jaw had tightened considerably, and he was still staring at her blankly. He took a deep breath, his eyes scanning her face nervously.

"So you're saying you don't miss us at all?" he asked, and she looked up again, wondering why this was even affecting him so much. "You're saying that you're happier now, is that right?"

She hesitated. She could tell him the truth, and tell him that she wasn't happier now than she had been when they were together. She could tell him that he was wrong, and that she really did miss their relationship. But what good would that do? Saying that she missed him wouldn't change what he'd done. Telling him that she hadn't been completely happy since they'd broken up wouldn't suddenly change the past. He had still cheated on her, and, although he did seem to get a bit jealous over her, she knew that his feelings had changed. He had just admitted it. He had said that she had meant something to him before, not that she meant anything to him now. She sighed, looking back up into his eyes.

"Yeah, Derek." she confirmed, nodding. "That's what I'm saying."

She saw something flash across his features, and she could have sworn that it was pain. But her words shouldn't bother him. He was clearly over her, if he had gone back to dating fifty girls every week. She clearly didn't mean a thing to him if he had cheated on her, right? He cleared his throat, and spoke up, in a voice that suggested he was about to prove a point.

"Tell me something, Casey." he said, his voice harsh. "Do you trust Cole?"

Casey raised an eyebrow, not understanding where this was going.

"Of course I trust Cole." she assured him, nodding. "I trust that guy with my life. He's my best friend. Why wouldn't I trust him?"

"Well he's made some pretty idiotic mistakes in the past too, hasn't he?" Derek asked, his eyes darting back and forth between each of hers quickly, searching for a reaction. Casey's face darkened considerably, and she froze.

"What did he tell you?" she asked, unable to believe that Cole would tell Derek about Kallie after he had just met him. "He couldn't have told you about-"

"Kallie?" Derek suggested, looking vaguely triumphant that this surprised her. "Yeah, I heard all about Kallie, and how he drove her right out of his life."

"Stop dumping on my best friend, Derek." she said, narrowing her eyes at him and sitting up a little bit straighter. "That's really low, even for someone like you."

"I'm not dumping on anyone!" Derek argued, moving a bit closer to her. He leaned forwards, one of his hands pressed against the bed on her right side. She squirmed uncomfortably, probably due to the fact that he was basically hovering over her. Derek recognized this, but did not move.

"If anyone is dumping on anyone, you're dumping on me." he informed her bitterly. "I called you for two weeks straight, Casey, and you didn't have the decency to pick up the phone, or return one of the twenty four emails I sent you, begging you to forgive me."

"Emails and phone calls don't mean much." she murmered, avoiding his gaze. "What you did can't be-"

"I'm sick of you saying it can't be forgiven!" Derek cried, leaning in closer to her, the anger clear in his eyes. "It _could_ have been forgiven, Case. It really could have. If anyone destroyed our relationship, it was you!"

"That's not fair, Derek." she whispered, letting her eyes lock with his. "I did everything right. All I did was love you. I left you because you hurt me."

Derek softened a bit at that, perhaps realizing that she was right about this, at least. They both knew that he couldn't tell her that the breakup had been her fault, when it was him that had done the deed that sent all of these events spiralling downwards. He sighed.

"Okay, so you never tore us apart." he admitted, looking thoughtful. "I did that, and I've told you a million and one times that I'm sorry. But I honestly didn't think that you'd hold the grudge for this long. When you didn't answer my phone calls or my emails, I figured that maybe you just needed some time to cool off; a couple of weeks or something. But then weeks turns into months, and months turned into four years. If you just try to understand this from my point of view-"

"And your point of view would be where, straddling some random chick you just met?" she retorted bitterly. He opened his mouth to finish what he was saying, but after a moment, the fight in him died away, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. He blew out a slow, patient breath, before looking back up at Casey.

"Forget it." he dismissed, running a hand through his hair angrily. "Just forget we had this conversation, okay?"

Casey stared at him for a moment, not used to seeing him get so worked up over things. He looked like he desperately wanted to break off and hit something, or yell until he couldn't even speak anymore. Quite frankly, it scared her, even though she was fully aware that he would never do anything to physically hurt her. Sighing heavily, she nodded, indicating that she too wanted this conversation to be over.

"Yeah, we never had this conversation." she agreed, relaxing again as he moved away from her, clearly trying to cut off all physical contact between the two of them. She bit her lip, wondering why he was still sitting on her bed. It was almost as though he wanted her to keep talking, just not about the breakup. Just when she was going to suggest they go back downstairs and join the rest of them, she remembered that there was something she had to ask him.

"Hey, I've got a question for you." she said, sitting up a bit straighter. He gave a nod to indicate that he was listening, and she rushed on. "At dinner, when I was talking to Jayden, and I mentioned that he should show some of his friends the stuff that Cole taught him, why did he get so upset? Why were you telling me to be quiet?"

Derek's face softened at the mention of Jayden, and Casey couldn't help but smile. She could tell that the little boy meant the world to Derek. It was sort of nice to see the soft side of Derek come out every now and then, even if it was only for Jayden. It proved to her that, somewhere underneath his playboy antics and witty sarcasm, lay a sensitive and caring soul. One that she knew she had gotten to see and experience herself for the longes time when they were going out. He sighed, running a hand through his hair carelessly.

"To make a long story short, he doesn't really have any friends at school." Derek said, looking genuinely upset about this. "He skipped a grade, so he's younger than the rest of the kids, but the problem is, he's smarter, too. He's constantly beating them for grades, and for attention, and nobody really likes that."

"I've been there." Casey reminded him, pressing her palms against the bed behind her and leaning back a bit. Derek gave a forced laugh, remembering when everybody had made fun of her grade grubbing reputation back in high school.

"You've been there, but not like he has." he assured her, shaking his head. "Trust me, this is worse. You had friends. At school, Jayden has nobody. He doesn't really talk about it much, but his teacher told me that he eats lunch by himself, and he sits at his desk all through recess, working on one of his assignments. He's bullied by quite a few of the kids in his grade, especially the boy that he mentioned at dinner, Mark. The last time Jayden stood up to Mark, he came home with his elbows and knees all scraped up because Mark pushed him down onto the concrete. Kid stuff, but I guess it still hurts."

"Poor kid." Casey whispered, thinking of the energetic kid that she'd gotten to know over the past few days. She didn't understand how somebody could dislike Jayden. He was the friendliest kid she had ever met, with his charm and his amazing sense of humor. How could anybody bully Jayden?

"So he doesn't have any friends?" she asked, frowning slightly. Derek shook his head.

"He does have friends." Derek assured her, smiling very faintly. "There's plenty of other kids in our apartment building, and he's friends with him. They're his age, but they don't go to his school. I kept him in his old school for grade three, but I'm seriously considering transferring him to the one near our place. Transferring him mid-year seemed too hectic, especially since he was trying to adjust at home, too, but now that he's going into fourth grade, I'm thinking that I might transfer him. I don't want to go through another year of notes from the teacher, and having to heal up cuts and bruises that he'll lie about."

Casey nodded, fully understanding what he meant.

"You're amazing with him, you know that, right?" she said softly, smiling. "He's really lucky to have you looking after him."

Derek realized that this was the second time she had complimented him that day. Both times had been about his parenting skills, of course, but it still felt good to be complimented by Casey.

"Thanks Case." he said, giving her a small smile. There was an akward silence, one that the both of them seemed afraid to break. Derek watched her intently, trying to fight back the urge to lean over and kiss her. She was right there; he could so easily do it. But she'd most likely slap him, before leaving to go home early. They were getting along, for the most part anyway, and he liked that feeling. He didn't want to do anything that could possibly jeprodize that. His eyes wandered down to her lips, and he could feel his body leaning forwards ever so slightly towards her. He didn't get too far, before catching sight of her eyes with his, and snapping back to his senses.

"I'd better get back downstairs." he said, tearing his gaze away from her lips and standing up, heading towards the door. He heard her give him a brief goodbye behind him, and he turned when his hand was touching the doorknob. She eyed him questioningly, but he just gave her a very faint smile and nodded towards her.

"Goodnight, Casey." he said, pulling her door open, and waiting for her to respond. She looked surprised for a moment, before nodding back at him, and returning the greeting.

"Night, Derek." she said.

With that said, he took a step outside the door and closed it behind him. He leaned up against it gently, closing his eyes and trying to get his heartbeat back to normal. Being in the same room with her, and on the same bed with her, drove him absolutely crazy, and he barely even realized it until he left. Four more days. Four more days and he could escape this nightmare. Four more days and he would be back home, with Jayden, where he belonged. He wouldn't have to worry about fighting with Casey, or getting into an argument with her, because she wouldn't be there. And really, that was his own stupid fault.

* * *

**Review! It inspires me to write quicker, and I actually need some inspiration, lol. Writers block has been hitting me on and off since school started! So review, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for all the feedback I've been getting; you guys rock!**


	10. Breakfast Outings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life With Derek. **

**Chapter Ten: Breakfast Outings**

The next morning, Derek woke up before the sun had even properly risen. He lay awake in his old bedroom for the longest time, just staring at the ceiling and contemplating whether or not he should get up. It was only five fifteen, and he knew that nobody else would be up yet. Then again, that could be a good thing. He might be able to have control over the TV for a change, but when he thought about it, he realized that there probably wasn't much on at five in the morning. He sighed, wanting desperately to go back to sleep, but sleep would not come. He had hoped that he could sleep in a bit on this trip, since he usually had to be up at the crack of dawn to get Jayden to school during the school year, and drive him to soccer practice during the summer. But he had woken up early for two mornings in a row now.

His stomach growled with hunger, and he placed a hand over it, as though begging it to shut up. He wasn't in any mood to cook, but he supposed that it was better than waiting four hours for somebody to get up and make something. Groaning, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and forced himself to get up, hauling on a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt before making his way downstairs. Yawning, he made his way through the dark living room and into the kitchen, trying to wake himself up completely. He stopped in the doorway, realizing that the light was already on, and that somebody was already in there. Squinting in the newfound light, he could pick out the figure of Casey sitting on one of the bar stools at the island. He suddenly became self conscious, and ran a hand lazily through his hair, trying to make it look somewhat presentable. He wasn't sure why he did this. Casey had seen him in every possible state, after all, and it had never bothered him before. But that had been when they were together. She was already dressed, and her hair had clearly been straightened, as it ran smoothly over her shoulders. She looked up when she heard him enter, and smiled.

"Derek Venturi, awake before noon," Casey noted, raising an eyebrow. "I never thought I'd live to see this day."

Derek rolled his eyes, and took a seat across from her, yawning absent mindedly.

"Morning to you too, princess," he retorted, ignoring the scowl she sent him. "Why are you up so early?"

"I could ask you the same question." she said, closing the magazine that had been lying open in front of her. "I woke up about twenty minutes ago and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to come downstairs and get something to eat."

Derek glanced down at the magazine in front of her, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Yeah, that magazine looks real nutritious." he deadpanned, trying to hold back a smirk. "But if you're planning on making something edible, could you make that for two? I'm starving."

"And I'm feeling uncharacteristically lazy." she informed him, yawning. "Otherwise, I would already be eating."

"Aw, and here I was thinking you would make me a nice breakfast." he said, shaking his head in mock dismay. "I guess I'll just have to find myself another cook with a pretty face."

"Sweet talk will get you nowhere with me." she reminded him, raising an eyebrow at him. He shrugged.

"It was worth a try though, wasn't it?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes. "Listen, how about we go down to one of those cafes that they've got in town? Edwin tells me the make the most amazing chocolate chip pancakes. You know how I love chocolate chip pancakes. And since _someone _isn't willing to make me any, I guess I'll have to settle for ordering breakfast. Because I'm really not in the mood for cooking. So what do you say, you want to come?"

"Well, that all depends," she started, wearing an amused smile. "Are you willing to drive me there?"

"I most definitely am." he assured her, nodding. "Throw in a walk in the park and I'll even pay for you."

"Are you trying to bribe me into a breakfast date?" she asked, looking genuinely curious. "Because I've got to tell you, I'm not really keen on the idea of going on an early morning date with my ex," she paused, "-or any date involving my ex, now that we're on the topic."

Derek rolled his eyes at her statement, finding himself privately offended by what she had said.

"Calm down, Spacey." he said, scratching the base of his neck casually. "I never said anything about a date. I'm hungry, and you're hungry. Neither of us really want to cook anything, so it would only make sense for us to go somewhere to get something to eat." he finished, as his stomach gave another audible growl of hunger. "Unless, of course, you'd rather wait until one of our parents get up and decide to make something."

"Okay, point taken; you win." she said, throwing up her hands in defeat. "Go get your car keys, hockey star, you're driving."

- - - - - -

"Of course I remember that!" Derek laughed, adding more maple syrup to his pancakes. "Any situation involving Sheldon is pretty memorable all on it's own, of course . But him singing for D-Rock that time pretty much tops it off, hands down."

"Definitely." she agreed, taking the syrup from Derek to add more to her own. "I have to hand it to you, though, it was a clever way to avoid detention, on your behalf."

Derek laughed and speared the last piece of pancake on his plate, shoving it into his mouth hungrily. He chewed and swallowed, before leaning back in his chair and pushing his plate towards the middle of the table. A moment later, Casey did the same, wiping her mouth on her napkin.

"Well that sure beats burnt toast and cereal, which is what I'm sure we would have been stuck with if we stayed home." Casey said, running her hand through her hair. "Remember to tip that waiter."

"You just find him cute." Derek said, rolling his eyes at her, remembering the flirtatious smile that she had offered the young waiter who had served them. Casey raised an eyebrow.

"Due to personal experience, I fully appreciate the patience and coordination that it takes to be a waiter, if you must know." she said, blushing furiously. "And maybe I found him the tiniest bit cute; but that never leaves this room."

Derek scoffed, folding his arms across his chest in mock annoyance.

"I'm cuter than he is." he said defensively, frowning slightly. Casey laughed, and he scowled at her. "What's so funny? I was being completely serious."

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you need your ego fluffed?" she asked, looking vaguely amused. Derek sat back with his arms folded pointedly across his chest as he waited for her to continue. She sighed. "Fine then, you're unbelieveably good looking; happy?"

"Yes, I am." he said, smiling despite himself. He caught sight of the tiny smirk that was playing on her lips, and his face fell. "You're just trying to make me feel better, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." she said, nodding. He scowled and slumped down in his seat, his arms folded pointedly across his chest.

"Fine." he murmered, acting offended. "But if you're just going to sit there and pity me, this little outing is over." He raised his hand in the air. "Check please."

Casey laughed, retrieving her purse from where it sat beneath her feet. The young waiter scurried over to where the two of them sat, handing Derek the check, and sending Casey a rather flirtatious smile, before hurrying on to the table next to theirs, where an older couple was waiting to order their breakfast. Derek rolled his eyes at the waiter's back, privately willing the man to set on fire. Casey looked rather amused by all of this, and Derek narrowed his eyes at her.

"Maybe you can ask Mr.Wonderful to pay for your breakfast, if you like him that much." Derek grumbled, trying to sound genuinely annoyed, but failing terribly. Casey instantly shot Derek her most innocent smile.

"Have I ever told you have a very handsome .. um .. chin?"

Derek raised an eyebrow.

"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" he asked, half seriously. "Because if it was-"

"It's supposed to be whatever it takes for you to buy my breakfast." she informed him as they stood up, Derek throwing a twenty and a five on the table, giving the waiter a five dollar tip.

"There; I tipped him; are you happy now?" Derek asked, shoving his wallet into his back pocket again. She grinned and nodded.

"Ecstatic." she informed him, giving the waiter the tiniest of smiles before they walked through the front doors. She sighed as they stepped into the seven am sunlight. Derek couldn't help but smile at how beautiful she looked with the sun shining down on her like that. He so desperately wanted to reach out and kiss her, or brush his hand against her cheek gently. He missed the times when he was allowed to do that without question. He couldn't believe that he had acted so stupidly and lost the chance for Casey to be his. He felt his breathing hitch in his throat as she took a step to the side to make room for a man who had been pushing a stroller past, her shoulder accidently brushing against Derek's. He closed his eyes momentarily, wanting to wrap his arms around her more than anything.

"Derek?" she suddenly said, snapping him out of his trance. He shook his head and focused his gaze on her. She smiled. "You okay? You sort of spaced out on me there for a second."

Derek tried to regulate his heartbeat, for it had been beating madly in his chest as a result of her touch. He gulped, taking a deep breath.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he lied, giving her a shaky smile. "I was just thinking about something. But never mind that; how about that walk?"

Casey looked hesitant for a brief moment, before nodding her mind and giving him a nervous smile. He took this as a good sign, and led the way to the car, so that he could drive them to the park for an early morning walk. He spent the duration of the drive to the park trying to make sure that he was saying the right things to her. They were getting along, now more than ever, and he didn't want to do anything to ruin that. He was pretty sure that she may be starting to accept him as a friend again. And, although it was far from what they had shared before, it was definitely closer than they had been in the past four years. And, to Derek, that was absolutely amazing.

- - - -

"So how's work coming along?" Derek asked her, purposely walking slowly to prolong their little outing through the park. She shrugged, allowing one of her hands to slip out of her pocket and run through her hair. He bit his lip, watching her every movement with interest. She shrugged.

"It's fine." she dismissed in a bored sort of voice. "It's great to work with my best friend."

"I'll bet it is." Derek agreed, nodding. "Cole seems like a pretty great guy. It's a shame about him and Kallie. Didn't he ever try to track her down and see how she's doing?"

"Did you try and figure out how I was doing?" she asked pointedly, raising an eyebrow. Derek's eyes snapped up, worrying that he had just triggered an argument, but he was relieved to see that her face was not angry, but calm. Before he had a chance to say anything, she had rushed on.

"I think he's scared to find out how she turned out." Casey admitted, sighing. "I mean, she could be married or something. And, although Cole doesn't really talk about it, I think that would kill him."

"I can understand that." Derek said, his voice barely above a whisper. His mind flashed back to all of the times that his father or Edwin had informed him that Casey had a new boyfriend, and how he had spent those nights moping and worrying. He couldn't even begin to imagine how he would feel if he found out that Casey was getting married to someone other than him. He was pretty sure it would kill him.

"The thing is though, Kallie never told her mother to keep anything from him." Casey explained, sighing as they sat down on a rock near the edge of the duck pond. "Cole ran into Kallie's mother one time when he went home, and she asked if Cole wanted her number. He didn't take it though, obviously. But it's almost like she is giving him the chance to reconnect with her. Sure, she ignored his calls and emails for a few weeks, but I really think she wants him to try."

"It's harder than it seems, Case." he said quietly, reflecting upon how hard it had been to accept that he had totally screwed up. Casey shrugged.

"Maybe." she said, resting her chin on her knee lightly. They both just sat there for a moment, wordlessly. Derek considered speaking again, for the sake of keeping the conversation going, but he decided against it. He was lucky to have even gotten her to agree to leave the house with him, and have a civil conversation. He knew it was best not to push his luck. He figured that Casey probably felt the same way; so he was surprised when, a moment later, Casey spoke up.

"Derek?" she said, lifting her chin from her knee and turning to him, biting her lip. He leaned back onto his elbows, staring out across the pond.

"Yeah?"

"I lied." she said simply, sounding embarassed. Derek turned his head to look at her, and moved into a sitting position once again.

"What do you mean?"

"Last night, when you asked me if I was happier when you left, I lied." she informed him, blushing. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I got over it, eventually-"

Something in her voice told Derek that she was lying about that, but then he realized that he was probably being a bit too hopeful for his own good. She had said that she had gotten over their relationship, and he just had to learn to accept that.

"-but, to tell you the truth, I was miserable for the longest time." she admitted, sighing. "You don't know how badly I wanted to answer the phone every single time you called me; or how many times I wrote back to one of your emails, but then deleted them."

Derek felt a twinge of happiness flutter through him. He hadn't been aware of this, and quite frankly, he felt good about this.

"So why didn't you let me talk to you, if you wanted to fix things?" he asked, genuinely interested.

She thought for a moment, before shrugging.

"I didn't want to get hurt again." she said finally. "It may have been hard for you to accept what you'd done, but it was even harder for me."

She looked him straight in the eye, and he squinted in the sunlight, lost in her gaze. All of his feelings for her were pulsing through his veins uncontrollably, and he felt his heart clench as he realized that they were just as strong as they had been on the day she left him, and on the day that they had gotten together. Nothing had changed, except, apparantly, Casey's feelings.

"I wouldn't have hurt you." he assured her, his heart beating madly.

"You already did."

He looked away, knowing just how right she was. And, to tell the truth, as much as he loved her, he couldn't even be sure if the words he had just spoken were true. Yes, he loved her, and he would never intentionally hurt her. But he had a tendency of being an idiot and screwing up every single relationship that he got involved in. Honestly, he couldn't really say whether or not he would have ended up messing everything up again, if she had of forgiven him. He bowed his head, ashamed of what he had done, and what he had the potential of doing.

"I know." he said, squinting in the sunlight again. They were quiet for a moment, before she spoke up.

"Come on." she said, sighing deeply. "We might as well go home. Everybody is probably up now, and they'll want to know where we are."

Derek studied her for a moment, well aware that she didn't really want to go, she just didn't want to discuss the matter anymore. And, as much as he felt that there were a lot of things that they still needed to discuss, he didn't want to discuss them if they were going to make her feel uncomfortable. Nodding, he stood up, motioning for her to do the same. She pushed herself up off of the rock using one hand, but lost her grip and stumbled backwards. Derek acted instinctively, reaching out, and wrapping an arm around her waist to catch her. He pulled her up, a little closer than necessary, perhaps, and kept her in his hold for a moment. She bit her lip and stared right into his eyes, with an emotion that Derek couldn't quite grasp. He vaguely recognized that this was the closest that he had been to her since they had broken up. He found himself subconciously leaning closer, and his mind was screaming at him to just kiss her. He was so close that he could feel her breath on his face. His heart was beating wildly, and he was sure that she could hear it. He was amazed to find that his lips were only inches from hers. That was when she turned her head the other way, snapping him back to reality. He opened his mouth to say something, but she pulled out of his grasp quickly.

"Thanks for catching me." she said quickly, blushing furiously. "Let's just go home, okay?"

Derek hesitated, but nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets and starting off in the direction of the car. He slapped himself mentally. Why had he just let her pull away like that? He'd had her right there, in his arms, and he'd let her go. They'd actually been getting along that morning, and then, he'd had her so close to him that he could of ..

_'Could of what?' _he found himself thinking, angrily. _'It's not like she wanted you to kiss her or anything; get a grip, Venturi.' _

He tried to tell himself that he'd made the right decision in not kissing her. She wouldn't have wanted it. She had turned away from him. That could only mean that she didn't want anything to happen between them, right? But he could still remember the look that had been in her eyes only moments before that, and he found himself wondering if maybe she had wanted him to make a move. She had said that she was over him, but maybe she still had some underlying feelings for him. He sighed. Next time, maybe he'd just go for it. If there w_as _a next time.

* * *

**As I've said before, I'm sorry for the longer update times, but it's to be expected with school. I also got a new computer, and had to transfer all my stuff. I've had writers block on the past few chapters. But, if it's any condolence, I have been writing. I have a bunch of the final chapters done, because I know what I want done for those, but am still a bit stuck on these recent chapters. And, have no fear, Dasey is coming closer! Next chapter will be revolved around Casey:) Review, and more shall follow!**


	11. Memories and Beastly Creatures

**I am so, so sorry for how long it took me to update this. I have been working on it, but I got unbelieveably stuck on this chapter! I took the time to write some more of the later chapters, like I've been doing all along, but this chapter gave me so many problems! So if it seems all over the place, that's probably why. Anyway, on a brighter note, I think I am back on track now. I have chapter twelve almost completed ( and it's a pretty eventful chapter ) and I pretty much know where I am going with this story after that. But enough about me, on with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life With Derek, Harry Potter, or anything else that may have crept up in here. **

**Chapter Eleven: Memories and Beastly Creatures**

_'Derek Venturi almost kissed me.' _Casey thought frantically, as she paced back and forth across her bedroom floor. _'Derek Venturi almost _kissed _me! And I almost let him!"_

Casey had not been able to process a normal thought since they had gotten home three hours ago. Upon entering the house, Derek had quickly made his way towards the TV, and Casey had rushed upstairs to her bedroom, where she had been pacing back and forth, lost in her thoughts and feelings, ever since.

She couldn't shake the feeling that had been knawing at her since Derek had slipped his arm around her waist to catch her. It was the same feeling that she had gotten two days before, when her and Derek had shaken hands in the kitchen. It left her skin tingling, and her mind screaming for her to just make a move on him. She had a feeling that he had been about to do so earlier, but she had stopped him. She had turned her head away from him, so that he wouldn't be able to kiss her. Why, she wasn't quite sure, because a part of her wanted it, but a much larger, more sensible part of her, told her to stay away from Derek, and that getting involved with him again would mean nothing but trouble. He had broken her heart once, and it had taken her years to pick up the pieces again. Did she really want to chance going through that again?

But a part of her _did _want to chance it. She wanted to know what would happen if she just opened up and let Derek in. She wanted to know what letting Derek kiss her would have meant. Would he have apologized, and called it a mistake? Would he have told her that he was sorry for cheating on her, and that he still felt the same way about her? She somehow couldn't bring herself to believe that he felt the exact same way as he had before. After today, she could pretty much say with full confidence that Derek had some feelings for her, but she didn't know whether it was just leftover lust, physical attraction, or something more. And the answer to that question was critical to whether or not she should act on her feelings.

She was still thinking through everything in her head, when she heard a knock on her door. She groaned, not really wanting to talk to anybody at the moment. But she knew that she couldn't just freeze everybody out; so, praying that it wasn't Derek, she called out for whoever it was to come in. Turning, she saw Lizzie standing in her doorway. She softened instantly. Lizzie; good old Lizzie. She could always count on her sister for a good heart to heart. Lizzie gave her a small smile, and slipped inside, closing the door behind her. Crossing the room, she sat down in the computer chair, facing her older sister.

"Are you in hiding or something?" Lizzie asked curiously, propping her feet up on the end of Casey's bed. "I haven't seen you since last night."

"Yeah, I went out with Derek this morning." she explained, trying to ignore the suggestive smile that Lizzie gave her. "There was nobody up and we- oh, don't give me that look."

"What look?" Lizzie asked, smirking despite herself.

Casey rolled her eyes.

"You're looking at me as if me going out to breakfast with Derek was a big deal."

"Well?" Lizzie asked, shrugging. "Wasn't it?"

"No, it wasn't." Casey assured her, shaking her head. She stood up again, pacing back and forth. "We both woke up before six this morning, and didn't feel like making anything, so we went out."

"Since when does breakfast last three and a half hours?" Lizzie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Casey narrowed her eyes at her sister.

"It doesn't." she informed her, annoyed at the smirk that Lizzie was still wearing. "We left at six, got to the café by six thirty. We never really left there until quarter after seven, and then we went on a walk in the park."

"Sounds romantic."

"Sounds like somebody is about to be kicked out of my bedroom." Casey replied, in a sing song tone.

Lizzie rolled her eyes, and sighed.

"Fine," she said, knowing that it was best not to make comments like her previous one. "But you can't tell me that you don't still like Derek."

Casey remained completely silent, knowing that, should she try and lie, Lizzie would know. Not a moment later, Lizzie squealed, and clapped her hands together,

"I knew it!" she cried happily. "You _so _like him."

"I wouldn't go that far." Casey said slowly, aware that this was a bold faced lie. Lizzie instantly recognized this, and sent her sister a doubtful look. Casey's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Why can every single person in this family lie, except me?"

"One of the mysteries of genetics." Lizzie dismissed, not looking at all phased. "Anyway, don't change the subject. What are you going to do about Derek?"

Casey raised an eyebrow, not expecting this question.

"What do you mean, what am I going to do about him?" Casey asked, confused. "I'm not going to do anything about him. I'm going to stick it out for the rest of this stupid trip, and then I'll go back to Toronto, and try to make things work with Matt ... again."

"You don't even _like _Matt." Lizzie whined, clearly frustrated.

Casey glared at her.

"That's not true." she argued, knowing that this was only half true. "I like Matt."

"No, you just like being able to say you've got a boyfriend." Lizzie corrected her, sounding completely confident. "It makes you feel secure, and it makes you look like you've got some level of control in your life. But you and I both know that you're not really secure. You'd rather be with somebody you have feelings for, but since you aren't willing to make up with Derek, you settle for Matt."

"I've made up with Derek!" Casey cried, throwing her hands in the air out of frustration. "I have! Sure, he was an insensitive jerk, and sure, he single-handedly destroyed our relationship, but I've moved past that, and I'm willing to be his friend."

Lizzie shook her head.

"You don't want to be his friend." she said, laughing. "You want to be his girlfriend again."

If there the slightest hint of a smile on Casey's face, it disappeared then.

"No, I really-" she trailed off, knowing that she wasn't fooling anybody, not even herself. "Okay, maybe; but I'm scared, Liz."

"Scared of what?" Lizzie asked, placing her chin in her hands, as she rested her elbow on her knees. "What exactly are you afraid of?"

"You don't know the whole story, Lizzie." Casey said quietly, sitting down on the edge of her bed again. "You don't know why we really broke up."

"Well obviously." Lizzie said, rolling her eyes. "But that's your fault. You two wouldn't tell anyone why you really broke up. You told us that you grew apart, but we all know that there's more to it than that. So come on, tell me."

"I don't know." Casey said slowly, unsure of whether or not she should tell her sister the truth. The only other person she had told was Cole, and that had been hard enough. Lizzie, however, looked up to Derek as a brother. Was it wrong of her to expose something that may cause Lizzie to think of Derek any differently? But then, she tried to imagine how she would feel if Lizzie were keeping something like this from her. She'd want to know what exactly had happened to make her sister so upset. And she knew that she had to respect Lizzie's concern, and tell her the truth.

"I don't want you to get mad at Derek, okay?" she said, taking a deep breath. "What he did was wrong, but it's in the past, and there's no need to be bringing up-"

"Casey!" Lizzie cried, exasperated. Casey fell silent, her mouth still hanging open mid-sentence. "I'm not going to think of Derek any differently. To me, he's a brother, and nothing's going to change that, alright? Just tell me already. You've kept me waiting for four years."

"Promise not to-"

"I won't tell a soul." Lizzie cut her off, rolling her eyes at her older sister's predictability. "Now shut up and tell me."

Casey hesitated, her face scrunched up in confusion as she realized what Lizzie had just said. A moment later, the same look of realization dawned over Lizzie's face, and she grimaced.

"Okay, so that made no sense, but you know what I mean." she said, rushing herself. "Just tell me already."

Casey took a deep breath. She hadn't repeated this story to anybody but Cole, and that had been years ago. She decided not to get caught up in the long version of things. She would tell Lizzie the short and simple version of things, and hope that she understood. Preparing herself for the shock, she sat up straight.

"Alright, well, as you know, Derek used to take me out for our anniversaries, right?" Casey asked, and Lizzie nodded. "Well when our four year anniversary came up, I had to work during the afternoon, so Derek went out with a few of his friends. We were planning on meeting up around dinnertime, for our date. To make an extremely long story short, he got drunk, cheated on me, and I caught him."

"He _cheated _on you?" Lizzie said, her eyes wide, and her jaw hanging. Casey looked away, and Lizzie softened, moving to sit next to her sister. She placed an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "Oh Case, I'm sorry. That must have been so hard on you. I never would've thought that Derek was capable of something like that."

"I didn't think it either." Casey said, willing herself not to cry as she remembered what had happened when she walked in on Derek.

_-_

_"Derek?" Casey called out as she stepped inside their apartment, tossing her keys down onto the endtable. "Derek, are you here? You'd better have a damn good excuse for not showing up to that restauraunt tonight. You can't even begin to imagine how much of an idiot I felt like, just standing around there for a good half an hour." _

_She was trying to keep anger from her voice as she shrugged out of her jacket, and tossed it onto the nearest coat hook. She stood in her spot for a moment, recognizing that the apartment was completely silent. She sighed. _

_"Derek?" she tried again.She made her way towards their bedroom. Placing her hand on the doorknob, she rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, stop acting like such a-" _

_But her sentence was unexpectedly cut off when she pushed the door open, and saw something that would haunt her memories for years. Derek was there, alright, but he wasn't alone. He was lying on top of a girl with blondeish brown hair, his hand snaked halfway up her shirt. Derek's own shirt was lying carelessly on the floor next to the bed. She could see one of the girl's hands pressing against Derek's chest, and the other tangled through his hair loosely as she kissed him. Neither of them seemed to notice that the door had opened. Neither of them seemed to notice that someone was watching them with shock. But they did notice when Casey started yelling._

_"_Derek_?" she yelled, praying that this was all a dream, or some sort of mistake, at least. At first, he didn't turn. Growing angrier by the second, she tried again. "DEREK!" _

_This time, he heard her. He pulled his lips away from the girl's, and glanced over his shoulder quickly at Casey. He didn't really seem to register what was happening, at first, because he looked away again. Casey could practically smell alcohol floating through the room, and she knew he was drunk. But drunk or not, that didn't make up for what he was doing right now. _

_"What the hell are you doing?" she cried, fighting back tears. She felt like she was going to be sick at the sight in front of her. She willed herself not to cry, and forced herself to keep her gaze focused on Derek. He grinned stupidly. _

_"Go away, Casey." he slurred, laughing slightly as he looked down at the other girl again. Not a moment after the words had left his lips, a look of realization dawned across his features, and he turned around so fast that he nearly fell off the bed. _

_"C-Casey ..." he stammered, clearly in shock. He leaned his hands against the bed behind him, and reached quickly for his shirt. He grasped it, and hauled it on over his head in a hurry, as though it would somehow erase what he had seen. The other girl rushed to sit up, and Casey could tell she too, was drunk._

_Casey folded her arms across her chest angrily, glaring at Derek, waiting for some sort of explanation. _

_"Derek, is this your girlfriend?" the other girl asked slowly, her eyes widening. _

_A panicked look crossed Derek's face, and he ran a hand through his hair, staring at the bed in front of him. _

_"No." he said quietly, his words sounding oddly forced. _

_Casey felt her heart clench, and she had to grip the doorway to even stand up straight, as her body was shaking with undeniable anger. Her free hand curled into a fist, and she felt anger bubble up in her like she'd never felt before. She was struck with the sudden urge to just tackle him, and hit him until he felt just as much pain as she was feeling right now. But she knew that doing so would be low, so she forced herself to use her words instead of her fists. _

_"Excuse me?" she said bitterly, her voice sounding strained. "I'm not your girlfriend, am I?"_

_"Yes, you are." Derek admitted, looking up at her. The girl who had been lying there, practically wordless, suddenly stood up, grabbing her jacket off of the foot of the bed._

_"I'd better be going." she said, before brushing past Casey and practically running out of the apartment. A moment later, a door slammed, and there was silence. Derek bit his lip and looked up at Casey. _

_"Casey-"_

_"Save it." _

_"Casey-" he tried again, standing up and taking a step towards her. He had barely moved an inch, when the influence of alcohol took over, and he stumbled, falling forwards. Instinctively, Casey reached out and managed to catch him before he hit the ground. Her arms linked under his, and she hauled him up, keeping one arm around his back to keep him steady._

_"Th-Thanks." he slurred, rubbing his temple. She could tell that whatever focus he had posessed only moments before was completely gone. He clearly didn't have a clue what was going on anymore. But she didn't care. She was mad, and she wasn't about to let him off the hook. _

_"You're lucky I even caught you, you cheating scum!" she hissed, throwing him down against the bed. He managed to hold himself up, and he looked up at Casey warily. _

_"Can you not yell right now?" he asked, squinting at her. "I've got a killer headache." _

_"Oh, I'm sorry, is there a better time we could dicuss our relationship?" she asked, smiling coldly at him. "Or what's left of it anyways." _

_"Can you get me a Tylonol?" he slurred, pressing the palms of his hands against his eyes in frustration. _

_Casey rolled her eyes at him, knowing that there was no sense talking to him when he was still half drunk. She glared at him, and tossed her jacket onto the edge of their bed. _

_"Whatever," she sighed, running a tired hand through her hair. "Go to sleep. Come to me in the morning when you're half sober." _

_Derek's eyes widened, and fear flickered across his face. He leaned forwards, grasping at Casey's sleeve desperately, trying to get her to stay. He managed to grab the end of her right sleeve, pulling her back towards him; but his grip wasn't strong enough, and it slipped. He fell backwards again, and she turned to leave. _

_"Casey, wait." he called out, his voice desperate. _

_Reluctantly, Casey sighed, and stopped where she was, not turning around. There were tears in her eyes, but she was deternined not to let them fall in front of Derek. She didn't want him to see how much this was affecting her. She didn't want to appear weak, because she knew that, if she did, he'd know just how to comfort her, and she'd fall for his lies again. She had to stay strong, and that meant that she couldn't cry; in his presence anyway. _

_She closed her eyes briefly, keeping her back to him. _

_"What is it, Derek?" she asked, her voice wavering with hurt. She heard him take in a deep, shuddery breath. _

_"Please don't leave." he begged, his words still slurred. "I want to talk about it." _

_Casey desperately wanted to stay and work things out with him. She wanted to sit down and get his side of the story, and hear why he had done this to her. But she knew that he was only experiencing phases of actual attention, being interrupted every few moments by downright giddiness and confusion. _

_"Tomorrow." was all she said, before taking the final step out of the room, and closing the door behind her. She managed to keep her tears in for a grand total of six minutes; the amount of time that it took her to grab a blanket and pillow, and situate herself on the couch. The second the lights had gone off, she allowed the tears to fall freely from her eyes. _

_- - - - -_

"We had our talk the next day, like I promised him, but he didnt say anything that made me want to stay." Casey finished, trying to ignore the shocked look on Lizzie's face. "His only excuse was that he had gotten drunk, and forgotten. I couldn't find it in me to trust him again."

"Do you trust him now?" Lizzie asked, raising an eyebrow at her older sister. Casey glanced at her quickly, and Lizzie rushed on. "I mean, you guys have been getting along lately, and you seem to have moved on from what he did to you. Maybe he's changed, Case."

"Maybe." she said slowly, chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully. "He does seem to have grown up quite a bit since we broke up."

"Maybe he learned his lesson, then." Lizzie suggested, shrugging. "Isn't it worth another shot?"

Casey thought long and hard. Maybe Lizzie and Cole were both right. Maybe Derek really had changed. Everybody deserved a second chance to show that they'd changed, after all. But her and Derek had been together so long ago, and had been through so much, that it didn't seem possible that they could pick up the pieces and start over. Besides, from what she'd heard from Jayden, Derek was still a player. He didn't seem like he was looking to settle down in a relationship anytime soon; and that was something that Casey wanted.

"Whatever happens, happens." Casey finally said, sighing. "I'm not going to make a move, that much is for sure. If Derek wants me, he can make his own move. He ruined it, he can put it back together."

"Case-"

"Don't say I'm being too harsh on him, Liz, because I'm not. You have no idea what he put me through."

"I wasn't going to say you're being too harsh on him." she said, shaking her head. "I was just going to say ... I hope you two fix everything. You really were a great couple."

Casey didn't respond, and Lizzie stood up, giving her older sister one last smile before she went out through the door. On her way out, she bumped right into Derek, who was on his way into her bedroom. Derek excused himself, and rushed into her room, stopping in front of her bed.

"You; get up, we're going to a movie." he said, grinning at her. Casey raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm taking Jayden to see the fifth Harry Potter. I know you're one of those Potter fanatics, so you're coming with us."

"Am I now?" Casey asked, a smile creeping onto her features unwillingly.

Derek nodded.

"Yup; there's no way I'm sitting through two hours of magic and beastly creatures by myself. Jayden's always too absorbed in the movie to even look at me. Now come on."

When Casey hesitated, Derek groaned and took a step towards her. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up, and practically dragged her from the room.

Casey didn't protest after that, and she tried to tell herself that she wasn't disappointed when Derek dropped her hand at the top of the stairs.

Within five minutes, they were in the car and on the way to the theatre. Jayden was having a discussion about how great the effects were supposed to be, and how he was going to want to see it again when he got back to Toronto. Casey had just rolled her eyes at this; she hated going to see the same movie more than once.

So then she couldn't figure out why she hadn't told Derek that she had already seen the movie.

* * *

**I personally hate this chapter. It was sort of all over the place and random, because I had writers block. But chapter twelve should be finished tonight, and will be posted upon reviews,and as soon as I know chapter 13 will not pose problems, lol. But I think I'm back on track now. So please, leave me a review. It would be greatly appreciated, and I apologize again for the wait. School combined with writer's block is never a happy combination. :( **


	12. Outbursts and Comforting Arms

**So I felt bad about my recent lack of updates, and went ahead and finished off chapters twelve and thirteen yesterday and this morning. :) So read on. This chapter is pretty eventful, and I think you might like it, lol. By the way, if you haven't read or seen Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, there is a slight spoiler in the very first paragraph about a character death, so if you intend on seeing/reading it, just skip over that part. )**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**Chapter Twelve: Outbursts and Comforting Arms**

Derek wasn't one to cry easily at movies. He'd seen 'Titanic' four times without once crying. He'd sat through 'The Notebook' twice with dry eyes. He'd been forced to sit through 'A Walk to Remember', and had managed to leave the theatre tear-free. And this was no exception. He couldn't figure out what was so sad about the Potter kid's godfather dying. But Casey, God love her, was sitting next to him crying over it. He had a feeling that she was the only person in the theatre crying over it.

Catching sight of her tears, he grinned and leaned in close to her.

"Crying will make your makeup run, Princess." he said, a smirk on his face. She didn't take her eyes away from the screen as she reached over and smacked his shoulder. He grinned and sat back, forcing himself to glue his eyes to the screen again. He reached for the popcorn absent mindedly, at the same time that Casey reached towards her pocket for a tissue. His hand brushed against hers, almost grasping it gently, and he pulled back as though her touch had burned. That was all it took for Casey's eyes to tear away from the screen. She shot him a curious look, and he was suddenly glad of the darkness that was surrounding them, as he was blushing furiously.

"Sorry, Case." he said quickly, stammering as he spoke. "I was just trying to-"

"Derek," she said, laughing quietly as she covered his shaking hand with hers. He felt his breathing hitch in his throat, and he gulped nervously. "It's okay, it was an accident."

Derek relaxed, letting out a deep breath and leaning back in his seat and trying to focus on the movie again. His hand was resting on his knee, still tingling from her touch. He felt like saying something else to her, but he had barely turned towards her again, when Jayden smacked his knee from his left.

"If you open your mouth again, I'm going to ask the attendant to kick you out of the theatre." he said angrily, glaring at Derek as he popped a piece of popcorn into his mouth. Derek scrunched his face up in confusion, and spoke up.

"But-"

"Zip it! Jayden hissed, shaking his head. "Harry's possessed. I want to watch."

"Because that sounded reassuring." Derek grumbled, before slumping down in his seat to watch the end of the movie.

- - - - - -

"How'd you like the movie, Jayden?" Casey asked the little boy, as they walked back towards Derek's car slowly. Jayden laughed, and grabbed Casey's hand as they went to cross the parking lot. Derek was surprised that Jayden had even remembered his safety rules, but knew he shouldn't question it.

"I _loved _it!" he said, grinning. "It sort of ruins it when you've already read all seven books, but-"

"Wait a second, you've actually read all of the books?" Casey asked, raising an eyebrow at the kid. She looked at Derek, who shrugged as he unlocked the car doors. She looked back down at Jayden. "That's impressive. You're only eight, aren't you?"

"Kid's a genius." Derek said, grinning proudly as he opened up Casey's door for her. "He's like a miniature, male version of you."

"Eloquent." Casey deadpanned, rolling her eyes as she climbed into the car, and clicked her seatbelt into place. They waited for Derek to get in the car, and a moment later, he did.

"Derek, can I listen to your IPOD?" Jayden asked, as they backed out of their parking space. Derek nodded, and Casey retrieved it from the glove box, tossing it back to him. Jayden jammed the headphones into his ears, and leaned back, smiling as he tapped his foot in beat with his music. Something seemed to occur to Casey, because a moment later, she glanced at Derek hesitantly.

"Uh, Derek, are you sure he should be listening to _your _music?" she asked, remembering several occasions throughout their adolesence when George would have to remind Derek that there were uncorrupted children living in the house. Derek laughed, and shook his head.

"Relax." he said, not taking his eyes off the road. "I took off anythng with vulgarity in it when he started using it."

Casey blinked at him.

"There's eleven songs left." he admitted, shrugging. Casey laughed, and stared out the window.

Derek took a deep breath, and glanced at her inconspicuously.

"You know, I've noticed lately that you uh ... you seem to be warming up to me a bit." he said, trying not to make it sound like a bad thing. She glanced over at him, and he blushed. "It's not a bad thing, don't worry. It's just ... are we okay now? Not okay like before, because, I mean, I know we're past all that. I'm not trying to ... I mean, God, what do I mean? I guess what I'm trying to ask is if we are friends now ... or ..."

Casey seemed to take pity on him then, as he struggled to find the right words to say. She laughed, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, Derek, before you drive off the road." she reminded him, not taking her hand off of his shoulder. She grinned. "We're fine, okay? You're still a part of this family, and I guess that means I'm going to have to put up with you for pretty much the rest of my life, so ...it's probably best for us to be on good terms."

"Good terms." Derek mumbled, visibly disappointed. "Right."

Before Casey could comment, Derek pulled into the driveway violently and yanked the keys out of the ignition.

"We're here." he grumbled, opening up his door and slamming it behind him. He didn't bother waiting for Casey or Jayden, as he stormed up the steps to their house. By the time he had dug his keys out of his pocket, Casey and Jayden had managed to catch up with him. They both waited patiently as Derek fumbled with the key, finally managing to get the door open.

The second they stepped into the house, Jayden ran off upstairs, most likely to write in his notebook about the movie he'd just seen. Casey and Derek hung up their coats on the coatrack, but froze when they heard a voice in the kitchen.

"That's not my problem." Cole was practically yelling. "No, I don't care what you have to say to me. Good intentions, huh? No .. No! I really-"

Cole stopped dead when he walked into the living room and saw Casey and Derek standing there,eyeing him suspiciously. He paled, and bit his lip.

"I've gotta go." he said quickly, ending his phone call. He placed the phone down on the table, and crossed the room, clapping his hands together in mock happiness.

"Hey guys, how was the movie?" he asked casually, giving them a fake smile. Neither one of them answered. "That bad, huh?"

"Cole, who were you just talking to?" Casey asked, raising an eyebrow at her best friend and folding her arms across her chest.

Cole paled.

"Cole," Casey said firmly, as Derek stood next to her and eyed Cole with the same look as Casey. "Who were you talking to?"

Cole winced, and turned his back on them, making his way towards the couch. He sat down, and put his head in his hands, looking as though he wanted the two of them to disappear, and leave him alone. But when he looked up, they were still there, and defeat flickered through his eyes immediately. He sighed, motioning for them to sit down.

"Take a seat." he suggested, his voice solemn.

They did so, perching themselves on the edge of the coffee table, and waiting for Cole to continue with his story. They had no such luck. The man merely sat there silently, clasping his hands together between his knees. Derek rather felt he shouldn't be here; this seemed like it should be a conversation between Casey and Cole. But neither of them had asked him to leave, and he was rather curious as to what this was all about.

"Cole," Casey repeated, trying to steady her voice. "Is there something you have to tell me?"

Cole finally looked up at the two of them, his eyes full of remorse and shame.

"It's about Matt." he started, perching himself on the edge of the couch. Casey raised an eyebrow at him, and Derek's heart clenched painfuly. Matt. He should have known. Him and Casey had been getting along so well over the past few days that he had almost forgotten that she even had a boyfriend back in Toronto. He forced himself to focus on the words that were coming out of Cole's mouth.

"First of all, don't get mad at me." Cole said, holding up a cautious hand, as though he was afraid that, at any given second, Casey would break off and come at him with fists of fury. Derek inwardly laughed at the thought, but forced himself to keep a straight face.

Casey, however, found nothing funny, and her face fell slightly as she frowned.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. Cole winced, and took Casey's hand in his own.

"I wanted to tell you months ago, Case; I really did." he said desperately. "Matt made me promise not to-"

"Cole!' Derek cried, frustrated with the useless rambling that Cole was getting on with. He gave a nod towards Casey, who was shaking in anticipation.

"Just spit it out already, before you give poor Casey a heart attack."

Cole glanced at Casey, who, indeed, looked like she was at her wit's end with her best friend. He shook his head pointedly and nodded, his features softening instantly as he dropped her hand.

"Right." he said, letting out a deep breath. "Well, I really don't know how I'm supposed to tell you this, so I'm just going to come right out and say it."

Derek saw Casey's eyes flash with fear, and he felt a sudden twinge of pity, and guilt. Here he was, half hoping that Cole would say something that would destroy Casey and Matt's relationship, while Casey was sitting right next to him, out of her mind with worry. Sure, he was jealous, but nothing gave him the right to wish away someone who apparantly made her happy. He wished desperately that it was him that made her happy, but it wasn't, and he just had to deal with it.

He could feel her shaking next to him and, subconciously, he placed a hand on the small of her back, pulling her a little bit closer to him. They both froze for a moment, surprised by what had just happened, but Casey surprised Derek by not mentioning his actions or moving away.

"Go on." she said, sounding a little more relaxed. Derek couldn't help but wonder if it was his touch that had calmed her. He bit back a smile at the egotistical thought.

"Alright, here it is." Cole sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Casey and Derek waited expectantly for him to continue and, after a moment, he did.

"Matt cheated on you, Casey." he said, wincing at the shock and hurt that crossed her features instantly. As much as his words had hurt her, Cole continued, probably just wanting to get it all out in the open. "He got another girlfriend right after you two had gotten back together in April." Cole went on, barely pausing for breath. "Apparantly, he really liked this other girl that he'd met when you and him broke up, but she had a boyfriend at the time. He figured that he had no chance with her, so he went back to you. A week after you guys got back together, she left her boyfriend for him, and he liked her too much to turn her away. But he also didn't want to hurt you by leaving you for someone else. So he started seeing her behind your back, and they've been together ever since."

Derek could feel Casey's shaking getting worse, and he moved his hand farther to the side, slipping it around her waist and pulling her right against his body, trying to calm her down. But not even his touch was calming her anymore. She opened her mouth to speak, but it took her a couple of tries to even get her words out.

"B-But he ... I ... he told me he wanted to get back together after summer was over." she stammered, tears in her eyes.

Cole shook his head at her sadly.

"He was never going to get back together with you, Casey." he explained, his voice harsh with reluctancy. "He was going to wait until you got back, and then tell you he'd met someone else over the summer. He thought it would be a believeable story; which was why he was waiting until a time when you were gone, and he would have presumeably had a chance to meet someone else. But it just would've been the same girl he's been cheating on you with all along."

Casey was obviously trying desperately to keep her tears back, but both boys knew that she was on the verge of tears.

"Why did you ... when did you ... how did you know about this?"

"Do you remember that time back in May, when you were sick, and asked me to drop by his place to pick up one of the movies you'd left over there?" Cole asked, and she nodded. "Well when I showed up, nobody answered the door, so I went on in and ... I saw him there with her. She left, and he explained to me what had been going on. I wanted to tell you, but he made me promise."

"You're supposed to be my _best friend!_" she yelled at him, tears finally escaping her eyes. She tried to move towards Cole, but Derek used his grip on her waist to hold her back, afraid of what she might do. "You're supposed to tell me these things! You _hate _Matt! Why the hell did you have to keep a secret for _him?"_

"Because I wanted to avoid _this_!" Cole explained, motioning towards her tears. "I was hoping that he'd have the decency to tell you himself. But hearing you talk about him the other day at dinner ... it made me realize that I can't let you go on thinking that he's this terrific guy who is going to take you back the second you get back to Toronto. Because that's not the case; not at all. He was going to dump you. As good as his intentions were; I knew you'd be heartbroken. So I called him tonight and tried to convince him to tell you the truth himself, but he wouldn't listen to reason."

Casey sat there for a moment, her chest heaving as she struggled to breathe. Tears were staining her face now, and she was crying heavily. Both of the boys watched her nervously, wondering what she was going to do. Derek still had his arm around her waist, but he was pretty sure that she wasn't even aware of this.

After a moment, she stood up, letting Derek's arm fall back to his side.

"You know, I think I'm going to give up on guys once and for all!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face. She rounded on Derek. "Firs there was _you_, and you went off like the insensitive jerk you are and cheated on me." Derek winced, but before he could say anything, she had turned to Cole. "And _you_, you're supposed to be my best friend, and you decide it's best to keep a secret like this from me! And now I find out that the guy I've been going out with for like, six months, has been cheating on me! It's pretty clear now that I really can't trust any of the idiots who have the nerve to call themselves men. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go uptairs, and sit by myself, until Lizzie or Marti or my mother get home. _Girls! _You know, the more sensitive, intelligent, hygenic, _kinder _gender!"

With that, she ran towards the stairs, yelling foolish nonsense over her shoulder at them. After a few moments, they heard a door slam, and then, there was silence. Cole put his head in his hands, letting out a deep breath, and Derek kicked the couch agressively.

"Well there goes almost a week of progress." he muttered angrily. "Great."

"I'm sorry, Derek." Cole said, shaking his head sadly. "I didn't think telling her would turn her against you ... or me either, for that matter."

"It's not your fault." Derek assured him truthfully. "You're not the one who was cheating on her. But maybe you should go talk to her."

Cole let out a sad laugh, giving Derek a pointed look. Derek's face scrunched up in confusion, and Cole raised his eyebrows at him.

"I really don't think that it's me she wants chasing after her." Cole said, clapping a hand on Derek's shoulder and standing up. "Think about it."

Without another word, Cole turned and walked off into the kitchen again, probably to try and think of something he could do to get Casey to forgive him. Derek thought over Cole's words in his head a couple of times, and realized that he was probably right. He should probably be the one to comfort Casey. He'd been the first one to act like an idiot to her, after all.

Sighing, he stood up and made his way upstairs towards her bedroom. He could hear muffled sobs coming from behind her door, and he felt his heart wrench for her. He hated it when she cried. Not because he didn't do tears, like he had often said before, but because he hated to think of her in any sort of pain. And he knew that, right now, she was going through a lot of it.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on her door, and waited for a response.

"Go away!"

_'Well, that went wonderfully.' _he thought to himself, shaking his head.

He knocked again.

"Case, it's me."

"Considering you are a member of the male gender, I suggest you go far away." she yelled at him through her closed door. Derek's eyes widened. "_Very _far away."

Derek sighed, shaking his head at her hostility. He placed his hand on the doorknob, praying that she'd left it unlocked and, for once, she had. He pushed the door open, but before he could even register that he was inside the room, he was being pinned against the wall, and Casey was yelling at him.

"You're such a fucking_ jerk_!" she yelled at him, pounding her fists against his chest again and again. He didn't try and stop her. He was afraid that if she wasn't hurting him, she'd be hurting herself. And considering he had been a major contribution to her hatred towards men, he rather felt as though he deserved this.

"I spent ... four years ... trying to forget ..." she got out through her tears and punches, "... trying to forget everything ... everything _you_ did to me. I don't deserve it! I don't deserve_ any _of this!"

"I know you don't, Case, I know." he said softly, his chest going numb from her punching. "Please, calm down."

"...it always happens to me!" she yelled. "_You _did this to me, Derek! This is all your fault! It's because of you I'm like this! I don't trust anyone, I can't have a relationship, and it's _all your fault! _I wouldn't even be upset over this right now, if it wasn't for the fact it's happened before!"

Derek closed his eyes briefly, knowing that she was right, that he really was the source of all her pain. Seeing Casey now, he wondered if this was what a girl was like every time she was cheated on. He had played girls before Casey and, he was ashamed to say that he had played them after her too. But seeing Casey like this now, made him vow to himself never to cheat on another girl again; not if it caused this.

"What is it, Derek?" she asked, her hitting getting less and less accurate and forceful with every punch. "Is it me? Is there something wrong with me?"

He felt awful. She was the most amazing girl he knew, and yet here she was, searching for her faults, and assuming that something had to be wrong with her.

"Its not you, Casey." he assured her. "You're amazing, trust me. But you've got to calm down, Case. You're going to have a panic attack or something. Please, just relax."

"I hate you, Derek!" she yelled, hitting him even harder this time. He froze, his heart breaking at the sound of her words. "I _hate_ you."

In one swift movement, Derek had grabbed both of her wrists in one of his hands, and was trying to restrain her from hitting him anymore.

"Stop it, Casey." he said, his voice sounding strained, and angry. "I don't care if you're mad at me. That's no excuse to say what you just said to me. I may have caused you pain in the past, but I'm not the one who just cheated on you; Matt is. If you're going to yell at anyone, yell at him. But don't you dare tell me that you hate me. It's bullshit, and it hurts, so just don't."

She was still fighting to free herself, but he stayed strong, and wouldn't let her go. She only fought him for another moment, before her body loosened, and she fell against his chest in defeat, crying into his shirt. He dropped her wrists, knowing that she wasn't going to hit him anymore, and he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She clutched the collar of his shirt desperately, as though she just needed someone to stay there with her, but she didn't have to worry. Derek had no plans on leaving her. He felt his heart soar as he held her for the first time in four years.

"It's okay, Casey." he whispered, his lips hovering just above her ear. "He's an idiot." Derek trailed off, thinking for a moment. "_I'm _an idiot."

"Yeah, you are." she got out, burying her face into his neck instead. Derek almost laughed at her statement, but knew that it wasn't the time. He held her a little farther away from him, just so he could look her in the eye. He was disappointed, but not surprised, to find that her face was stained with tears.

"Stop crying." he begged her, wincing at the sight of her tears. He wiped one away with his thumb, and let his hand slide around her waist again. "Come on, Case. I know you like Matt and all-"

"It's not that." she said, surprising him. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. "I'm not crying because of that."

"So then why are you crying?" he asked her, confused.

"I just hate that ... I mean, this has happened to me twice now." she sobbed, her tears ebbing away slightly. "Of course, it wasn't as bad as the first time ... but ... you know what? Let's not talk about this anymore, okay?"

"Come on." Derek said, unable to think of anything else to say to her. "Let's go get you cleaned up, and we'll go watch a movie or something."

And that was just what they did. Derek allowed Casey to go and get changed, and clean herself up a bit, before he sat with her on the couch and started up a movie that Casey had brought downstairs with her. As they sat down, watching the previews that they had been too lazy to skip through, Derek glanced over at Casey, who hadn't looked this broken in four years. He had a brief flashback of the hurt look that had flashed through her eyes when she had walked in on Derek cheating on her. He winced, and looked away. Not a moment later, he heard Casey speak up next to him.

"Derek?" she said, sounding embarassed.

He turned his head, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, Case?"

"I don't really hate you." she informed him, and he was relieved to hear that she sounded articulate. He watched as she continued. "I just got mad."

As much as Derek had guessed that the words she had yelled at him earlier had been false, he was relieved to hear her say that she hadn't meant it.

"I know, Case." he said, shifting so that he was sitting right next to her. He wrapped an arm around her back, and her head dropped onto his shoulder. "I know."

* * *

**So I feel a lot better about this chapter than I did about the last one. So review, and I will probably post the next chapter tomorrow-which, btw, every one of you Dasey lovers will enjoy. ;-) **


	13. Four Years of Absence

**Third update in two days! Guilt of not posting for like, a week, does wonders, doesn't it? Haha. Chapter fourteen should be up sometime within the next few days, depending on inspiration. After that, it should come fairly consistantly, because a lot of them were prewritten when I was stuck on chapter eleven. Anyway, read on. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this. This is getting fairly discouraging. **

**Chapter Thirteen: Four Years of Absence**

The first coherent thought that Casey could summon up upon awaking the next morning was that she was extremely uncomfortable. Unfortunately, her family hadn't replaced the old couch, and she rather felt that sleeping on it should require a waver of some sorts. She had a crick in her neck from not using a pillow, and her back was twisted in a rather odd position. Everything around her was silent, giving her the idea that it must be very early in the morning. Without opening her eyes, she attempted to move forwards, but found that this was impossible, as there was something preventing it.

Opening her eyes, she saw that it was still very early in the morning. The sun was too far off to even light up the room considerably, and she had to squint to see across the room. Looking down, she saw that the obstacle preventing her from moving was an arm wrapped around her waist. She felt her body stiffen up. She thought back to the night before, trying to remember who had been in the room with her. She could remember Cole telling her about Matt, and then Derek chasing her upstairs. But when she had been watching the movie, the only other person there had been ...

She turned her head ever so slowly, as not to awake the person behidn her. Squinting in the darkness, she could faintly make out the outline of Derek's face. Her first instinct was to pull away, and just go back to her own room. This was _Derek _after all. The last thing she should be doing is lying here with him. But, when she gave it a second thought, she realized that she could very easily fall back to sleep and pretend like she hadn't even known that she was with Derek.

_'Wait a second, what?' _she thought frantically, realizing that she had just basically been considering an excuse to stay in Derek's arms. She shook her head, as though trying to rid herself of the idea, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she really didn't want to move. She suddenly didn't feel as uncomfortable as she had when she had first woken up. She tried to tell herself that it had nothing to do with the fact that Derek's hands were placed delicately on her stomach, or the idea that his face was buried in between her shoulder and her neck, and that his warm breath was causing her skin to tingle pleasantly. Yes, she could tell herself that all she wanted. But she knew that she was only lying to herself.

She lifted her wrist up closer to her face, trying to catch a glimpse of the silver watch that was displayed there. She could see that it was only four thirty in the morning. She sighed. She couldn't just lie here until Derek woke up. She either had to go back to sleep, or get up and go to her own bedroom. She was just contemplating this in her mind, when she felt Derek stirring next to her. She froze, wanting to allow him the chance to go back to sleep, if he wanted to. Not only that, but she really didn't want to face him right now. Unfortunately for her, Derek's eyes began to flutter open, and, just like her, he observed the situation with much confusion. He glanced down, noticing his arm around her waist, and a moment later, his gaze lifted to connect with hers. Fear filled his features, and he winced.

"Dammit, Casey, I'm sorry." he got out, his voice weak from obvious fatigue and embarassment. He went to pull away, and she found herself placing a comforting hand over his, stopping him. He looked confused for a moment, and she gave him a faint smile.

"Don't be sorry." she whispered, not wanting to wake up any of the other occupants of the house. "We fell asleep; it wasn't like you did it on purpose."

"Right," he said, relaxing again. He blew a piece of loose hair off of his forehead, and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "We, uh, we should probably go upstairs, shouldn't we?"

Casey bit her lip, thinking hard. Derek hadn't removed his arm from her waist, and she had no intentions of asking him to. Trying to sound as casual as possible, she spoke up, knowing that her voice was shaking, despite her best efforts.

"We could." she agreed, nodding. "But I'm sure if we went upstairs, we'd end up waking someone up. It's four thirty in the morning. We could just stay down here."

She was suddenly glad that it was dark out, because she knew that she was blushing. She had a feeling that Derek himself was blushing as he responded.

"Are you sure, Case?" he asked, sounding nervous. "I mean, I could sleep on the floor, if you don't want me to be-"

She laughed, and placed her hand over his again.

"Don't be silly." she said softly, giving him a gentle smile. "I don't expect you to sleep on the floor. You can stay where you are. I don't really mind it, as long as it's only tonight."

"Only tonight," Derek repeated, nodding his head. "Right. Well, uh, goodnight."

"Night," she whispered, allowing her eyes to close once more, and she felt Derek's grip on her waist tighten almost protectively. She tried to stop the tiny smile that crept onto her lips as she started to drift off to sleep, but she couldn't. She was almost asleep, when Derek's voice snapped her back to attention.

"Case?" he whispered quietly into the darkness, almost as though he didn't really expect her to answer. She wasn't sure if he really wanted her to or not, but, looking up at him, she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?" she asked, wondering what was so important that he had to prevent her from sleeping. He chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully, looking as though he just wanted to stop talking and go to sleep. Finally, he realized that he had to say something. Letting out a deep breath, he allowed his gaze to connect with hers again.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice wavering on every note. "I'm really, really sorry."

"I thought I told you," she sighed, impatient with him for waking her up again for this. "I'm not mad at you for falling asleep with-"

"Not that," he dismissed quietly, looking away again. "I'm sorry for ... for cheating on you."

She stiffened, glancing up at him with a mingled look of shock and surprise. She turned onto her back, but he wouldn't let go of her waist.

"Derek, I-"

"I was a complete and total jackass, and I deserved every word you said to me that day." he went on, rambling. "I know that it's all in the past and everything, and that it won't change anything now, but I feel like you need to know how sorry I am. I honestly never meant to hurt you, Casey. I hope you'll believe me."

Casey felt herself soften up to Derek considerably at that moment. She could see the honesty in his eyes, and hear the remorse in his voice. He truly was sorry for everything he had put her through. She had no doubts about that anymore. But, of course, it didn't change the fact that he had acted irresponsibly, and destroyed any trust she had in men. She looked up into his eyes, and she could see that he was shaking. She reached up and placed a hand gently on his cheek, causing his eyes to close at her touch. They only opened again when she spoke.

"Thank you," she said articulately, giving him a sad smile. "It means alot to me that you realize that what you did was wrong."

Derek could only nod. The shadow of a smile that had been playing on Casey's face faded as she continued.

"But you were right about the second part too, Derek." she told him, and he frowned, clearly not understanding what she meant. "It's all in the past, and apoligizing really can't change things anymore. It was four years ago. We've both moved on, right?"

For the tiniest fraction of a second, Casey could haves sworn that she saw something like hurt and hesitance flicker across Derek's features, but when she looked again, he was nodding his head in agreement.

"Moved on, right." he said, swallowing with what seemed like great difficulty. Casey considered asking him if something was wrong, as he was acting very strange, but she decided that it was just the sleep deprivation playing with her mind. Without saying another word, she turned her head away from Derek's and closed her eyes again. And this time, Derek allowed her to fall asleep, uninterrupted.

- - - - - - -

"They're healthy, you loser."

"FrootLoops are packed with sugar, Derek. All you're doing is rotting your teeth."

"Since when are you a dentist?"

"Since when can an eight year old outsmart you?" Casey heard Lizzie saying. "Jayden's right, you know. FrootLoops have a lot of sugar."

"Would you guys leave me alone?" Derek snapped, and Casey opened her eyes to see him sitting in his chair, pouting, and clutching his box of FrootLoops to his chest. "I'll eat whatever I want to eat."

"They're right, Derek." Casey said, laughing. "You've been outsmarted by an eight year old, and your little sister. Congratulations; this must be a proud moment for you."

Derek turned his head in recognition of her voice, and his features softened instantly.

"Case, hey." he said, smiling softly at her. Casey knew that what had happened the night before was still on his mind, and that he was treating her so kindly because he felt sorry for her. But nonetheless, she appreciated it.

"Morning." she said, smiling back at him.

Jayden grinned at her, and threw himself onto the couch next to her.

"Morning, Casey." he said, looking up at her happily. "Tell Derek he's a loser. He's rotting his teeth."

"He already knows he's a loser." Casey said, laughing. "He doesn't need me to tell him that."

"This family sucks." Derek grumbled, shoving a handful of cereal into his mouth and storming off upstairs in mock-anger. Jayden laughed at his gaurdian, and started talking to Lizzie as Casey went upstairs to get changed and cleaned up. When she looked half presentable, she made her way towards the stairs, ready to go and get some breakfast. She paused when she saw that Derek's door was open. Curiousity getting the better of her, she made her way to his doorway. She found him lying on his bed, the box of FrootLoops lying on his desk. He was staring up at his ceiling, but turned towards the doorway when he heard Casey enter.

"Long time, no see." he commented, grinning. "What's up?"

Casey shrugged, closing the door behind her and crossing the room, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Nothing, really." she said, suddenly unsure of why she was even there. A thought occured to her, and she regained her composure. "I guess I just wanted to thank you ... for all of your help last night."

"No problem." he said, shrugging. "I still care about you, and I don't like seeing you upset."

"Or maybe you're just soft." she teased him, ruffling his hair.

He scowled, and fixed his hair again, trying his very best to look offended.

"I'm not soft, McDonald." he said, although they both knew this was only half true. "It's just that ... you bring out the best in me."

"This is your best?" Casey snorted, looking away and laughing. "I'd hate to see your worst."

She looked back to see Derek frowning at her slightly, as though he couldn't see what was so funny. She eyed him curiously, and he shook his head.

"I wasn't kidding." he said seriously. She raised an eyebrow. "You really do bring out the best in me. Why do you think I was so nice to you last night?"

"To get me to stop hitting you?" she laughed, placing a hand on his shoulder. She winced, glancing down at his shirt-covered chest briefly. "Sorry about that, by the way."

"It's okay." Derek shrugged, trying to act tough. Casey decided against mentioning that she had seen him examining a bruise on his chest when they were watching the movie the night before. "You've got one hard swing though, McDonald."

"I know." Casey said, smirking at him. "You don't need to remind me of that. I could take you on anyday and win."

Derek laughed, and raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so?" he asked, grinning mischeviously as he leaned closer to her.

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head, leaning backwards a bit.

"Derek, whatever your thinking of doing-"

"I'm not _thinking _of doing anything." Derek said, in a tone that Casey didn't trust. "I'm going more for the direct approach."

Casey scrunched up her face in confusion, unsure of what he meant.

"What's the direct ap - Der_ek_!" she cried, as he lunged forwards and tackled her, tickling her all over. He obviously still knew all of her weak points, because those were the ones he was going for again and again. Casey giggled and struggled to fight him off, but he was much stronger than she was, and managed to seize both of her wrists in one hand, and tickle her with the other. She could do nothing but beg him for mercy.

"D-Derek!" she laughed, breathing heavily. "Come on! Stop it! You kn-know how t-ticklish I am! This isnt even fair!"

"Say I win!" Derek laughed, not stopping his little attack. Casey shook her head. "Come on, Case. Just say 'Derek wins' and I'll stop!"

"N-Never going to happen, Venturi!" she informed him, turning red in the face from laughing that hard. "Oh come on! Just stop already!"

"What's the magic words?" Derek asked in a singsong voice.

Casey sighed, unable to take anymore of his tickling. She could barely breathe, and the only way he would stop was if she admitted defeat.

"Derek wins!" she cried, just as he clambered on top of her and pinned her whole body down, one knee on either side of her waist. "You win! Derek Venturi wins! Th-There; are you happy?"

"Thrilled." he said, grinning at her as the tickling stopped. They both struggled to catch their breath, the grins still plastered on their faces.

It took them both a moment to recognize that Derek was still on top of Casey, and that he had her in a very compromising situation. The smiles slowly faded off of their faces as they acknowledged what was happening. Derek's face was only a couple of inches from Casey's, and, as their eyes locked, neither of them had the power to look away. Casey bit her bottom lip, trying desperately to look away from him, or to move away from him.

_'It's just Derek!' _she tried to tell herself, her mind screaming at her to move, or to say something. _'He shouldn't have this kind of control over you! Just move away!" _

But instead of moving away, she found that his face was coming closer to hers by the second. That was when she realized that Derek was leaning on towards her, his eyes never leaving hers. He stopped about an inch from her lips, studying her nervously. She knew what he wanted; but she also knew that he was afraid to make his move. She vaguely contemplated just leaning up and kissing him, but she reminded herself that she had vowed not to make the first move.

_'He screwed it up.'_ she reminded herself, her heart beating furiously. _'Let him make the first move.'_

"Derek?" she whispered, half afraid of the obvious desire in his eyes.

Before she even had a chance to get another word out, he had closed the distance between them, pressing his lips urgently against hers. As much as she had known it was coming, she still wasn't ready for it. She was taken aback at first, but after a moment, her eyes fluttered closed, and, forgetting about everything that he'd put her through, she kissed him back. She wasn't even aware of the fact that he'd let go of her wrists. All she knew was that, the next second, his hands were on her waist, creeping slightly up her shirt, his hands resting on her stomach. She gripped the back of his neck with one hand, the other pressing against his chest lightly. She allowed herself to get completely lost in the feeling of his lips caressing hers. The kiss wasn't exactly rushed, but it was desperate, almost as though they were both trying to make as much of this moment as they possibly could. And, despite how long they'd been away from each other, it was still filled with as much passion and desire as their kisses always had.

Lack of air was all that made Derek pull away. He did so slowly, keeping his lips right over hers, his eyes scanning hers nervously. It was only then that he seemed to realize what he'd just done. His eyes widened, and he winced, jumping up off of her and pacing back and forth in front of his bed, running a hand through his hair frantically.

"Dammit." he said, and it was quite clear that he was talking to himself.

Casey used her elbows to prop herself up, and she examined him with curiousity.

"I'm sorry, Casey." he said, not giving her a chance to speak. He backed up towards his door slowly. "I'm so sorry. You're ... you're vulnerable right now, after everything that just happened with Matt, and I just ... I took advantage of that, and I'm ... I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. I've ... I've got to go."

Before she could even begin to respond to his outburst, he had turned and rushed from the room, leaving a bewildered Casey behind him. A moment later, she heard the front door slam, and a car start up. She knew he'd gone out somewhere, probably to think over what had just happened.

She sighed, and flopped back down against the bed. She couldn't blame him; she had a lot to think about too.

But as she raised a finger to her lips, which were still tingling from the kiss, she knew that one thing was certain. She didn't regret the kiss; not at all. And she could only hope that he didn't either.

* * *

**There's a daily dose for all you fellow Dasey lovers. Yeah, took a while to get there. But we DID get there, so let's not complain. ) Anyway, review, my friends. This story, I think, is a little more than half over. But there's still quite a few twists and turns ahead ;-) And as I said, I only have another few chapters to write, and then MOST of them will be pre-written. ) So REVIEW! It motivates me!**


	14. Arguments, Maturity, and Resolutions

**So sorry that this was late; but school has been hectic, and I was torn between two directions for this chapter. Anyway, this chapter is a bit longer, if that helps any. This story, as I mentioned, does have a few twists coming up, both involving Dasey, and in general. But lets keep in mind that I DO love Dasey; but I love twists too ) **

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing. **

**Chapter Fourteen: Arguments, Maturity, and Resolutions**

"Trouble in Paradise?"

"Not the time, Cole."

Derek ran a hand through his hair casually, trying to remember when he had last felt this frustrated. He couldn't believe that he'd kissed Casey, and what was even worse, he'd ran out afterwards. What could he have been thinking? She was vulnerable. She'd just found out that her so called relationship with Matt wasn't what it seemed, and she'd recently had a fight with her best friend. How the hell could he take advantage of that? He knew that she'd kissed him back, but he still felt bad.

On the other hand, however, the kiss had been amazing. It had meant more to him than every other kiss he'd experienced since they'd broken up; and that was saying something, as there had been quite a few kisses since then. He half wished that he'd stuck around to get Casey's take on all of it; but he knew that he couldn't change that now.

He was currently sitting on the front step of their parent's house, trying to avoid Casey. He'd gotten in his car and had taken a drive around London, but that had only kept him occupied for about an hour, before he got bored and decided to come back. And now, here he was, sitting on the step, and trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

"Casey still mad at you?" Cole asked, taking a seat next to Derek, and propping his elbows up on his knees. "If she is, don't take it personally. You know how stubborn she is. She's mad at me, too."

"She's not mad." Derek said, shaking his head. "Or at least, I hope she's not, though she very well could be after what I just did."

Cole paused for a moment, as though he was afraid to ask what Derek meant.

"Uh, what did you do?" he asked cautiously.

Derek sighed.

"I kissed her." he said simply, blowing a piece of hair off of his forehead.

Cole was completely silent next to him, but Derek didn't have the nerve to look over at him. He wasn't sure how Cole would react to this; and, quite frankly, he wasn't even sure how he felt about it, himself.

"You kissed her?" Cole asked, with no particular emotion in his voice.

Derek nodded, and Cole breathed in sharply, as though shocked by this news.

"Wow." he said, letting out a deep breath. "I guess, uh, I should congratulate you, then." Derek shook his head, and confusion spread across Cole's face. "Or not?"

"Nope." Derek said, sighing. "It was a mistake."

"A _mistake_?" Cole asked, bitterness creeping into his voice suddenly. Derek turned to look at him, surprised by this. "A _mistake_?"

"Yes, a mistake." Derek confirmed, unsure as to why Cole was suddenly turning on him. "As in, it was spur of the moment, and I didn't mean to do it."

"You can't honestly tell me that kissing Casey was a mistake." Cole said angrily, shaking his head at Derek. He jumped up, looking down at Derek, who was taken aback by this sudden outburst. "You're in love with the girl, and you sit here and tell me that kissing her was a mistake."

"Well, it was!" Derek argued, standing up to eye level with Cole, so that he didn't feel so small. "Yes, I love her, and yes, I wanted to kiss her. But I shouldn't have done it. Casey just got out of a relationship with Matt, she's in a fight with you ... she's vulnerable. What kind of guy am I, to take advantage of that?"

"Did she kiss you back?" Cole asked, glaring at Derek.

"What?" he asked, not expecting this question.

"You heard me." he said, folding his arms across his chest. "Did Casey kiss you back?"

"Wh- yes, she did; but that's not important right now." Derek said, shaking his head. "What's important is that I-"

"I'm sorry, but if I got a chance like that with Kallie again, I don't think I'd be sitting there and calling it a mistake, Derek." Cole said, some of the anger ebbing away as he spoke. "You need to learn how to appreciate what you've got; instead of labelling it as one big mistake, and shoving away your feelings."

"Mistake?"

Both men turned around quickly at the sound of Casey's voice in the doorway. Derek could have sworn that his heart stopped beating when he saw the look that was on her face. She looked like she'd just been slapped across the face, or worse. She was looking back and forth between Cole and Derek, as though she was unsure which man she was more mad at, at the moment. Derek softened instantly, and took a step towards her.

"Casey, listen to me-"

"No!" she cried, slapping away the hand that had just come to rest on her shoulder. Derek winced. "I'm not listening to you. Do you guys think it's funny, to mess with my feelings like this?"

"Casey, please." Cole said, taking a step towards her. "That wasn't what he meant."

She shook her head, and backed away from him.

"I don't know how _either _of you can call yourself a man." she said, before turning and running into the house again.

This time, Derek didn't even wait for Cole to give him any sort of a sign. He tore after her as if his very life depended on it. She ran up the stairs as quickly as she possibly could, reaching the top only a few seconds before Derek. She was fast; but he was faster, and by the time she had pulled open her bedroom door, he had already managed to grab the back of her sweater, and pull her back towards him. She tried to get away, but he wrapped his arms around her waist, and held her tight. She struggled against him, but he was stronger, and, after a moment, she realized this, and gave up.

"That wasn't what I meant." he said immediately, trying desperately to make her see that she was wrong. "I didn't mean that kissing you was a mistake because I didn't want to do it. I ... I did want it, Casey. If I didn't, I wouldn't have done it."

Casey seemed to relax a little, but she still looked fairly angry. He knew that she expected him to explain, so he did.

"I just meant that ... I don't know, really." he said, and she looked unimpressed. "It just ... doesn't feel ..."

"Doesn't feel what?" she asked fearfully.

"It doesn't feel right." he finished, trying to ignore the hurt look that spread across her face, and the aching that he felt tearing at his heart. His words were true; but maybe not for the reasons she thought. Kissing her felt right in one context. When he had kissed her, he had felt just as much love and bliss as he had when he kissed her before. He felt like Casey was perfect for him, in every single way. But something had changed. Now, when he kissed her, he almost felt ashamed, or guilty. He felt like he didn't deserve her; and, really, he knew he didn't. It felt wrong to kiss someone he knew he had hurt, and who deserved better. Casey, however, had understood Derek's words in a very different way.

"Doesn't feel right." she repeated coldly, narrowing her eyes at him. She pulled out of his grasp violently, glaring at him. "Was there _ever _a time when kissing me felt right, then?"

Derek froze.

"Of course there was!" he assured her, trying to pull her back towards him; but she wouldn't have it. She took another step back from him. "Casey, I didn't mean it like that."

"Are you going to use that excuse every single time you say something stupid?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "It didn't work then, and it's not working now. If you regret kissing me, I need you to tell me now."

"I don't." he said instantly, shaking his head. "A part of me wishes that I hadn't done it; but I don't really regret it."

He was making no sense, and he knew that Casey was thinking the exact same thing. She shook her head, and ran a hand down through her hair, clearly frustrated. Letting out a deep breath, she began to speak.

"Look, Derek." she started, wincing. "I really don't think you're clear on your feelings right now. You're making absolutely no sense. You say kissing me was a mistake, and that you sort of wish you hadn't done it, yet you don't regret it. You say kissing me didn't feel right, but that it used to. You're not giving me any straight answers. How can it just feel right then, and not anymore?"

Derek didn't answer. He didn't know _how _to answer something like that. Casey's shoulders slumped in defeat, and she looked away, hurt clear in her eyes.

"Maybe you're right." she said, her voice wavering.

Derek finally glanced up, but she was now concentrating very hard on the floor, as though it would suddenly solve all of their problems. He kept his focus on her, trying to get her to meet his gaze, but she wouldn't look up.

"Maybe the kiss was a mistake." she said quietly, her hair falling down over her eyes. She glanced up quickly, as though searching for a reaction, but his face remained blank. Trying to stay strong, she continued.

"You've changed, Derek; but you've still got a long way to go."

"I can't change my entire personality to fit someone else, Case." he said, hurt that he wasn't enough for her just the way he was.

Casey shook her head.

"It's not your personality." she informed him, leaning back against the wall. "It's ... you. I honestly don't think you've matured much since I broke up with you. You've grown up a bit, sure, but you've still got an awful long way to go."

Derek cringed, looking away from her as he tried to mask the hurt that he knew was in his eyes. She saw this, and reached out, cupping his cheek gently in her hand.

"You're a good guy, Derek; really, you are." she said, more softly this time. Removing her hand from his face, she shook her head. "I just don't think you're ready for a relationship. I heard your Dad talking to my Mom this morning. You haven't changed as much as I thought you did. Your Dad was talking about how, just last month, you dumped this girl, Jessie, for some other girl. A week later you were with someone else. Come on, Derek, you're twenty five years old. When are you going to settle down?"

"Maybe when the right girl finally gives me a chance." Derek muttered, keeping his head bowed down. His voice was almost inaudible, but Casey still heard it.

"You're not going to meet the right girl if you keep letting them go before you get to know them." she told him, looking disappointed in him.

Derek's words stung her. He thought she would've known that by, 'the right girl', he meant her. Maybe she just didn't see him as the perfect guy for her; was that it?

Derek went to answer, but she cut him off.

"Don't say anything, okay? Just forget about it. Forget about all of it."

"I don't want to-"

"I've got to go." she said, cutting him off. "I need to talk to Cole. He's leaving tomorrow for his business trip, and I just feel like there's a lot I've got to say to him."

"Are you still mad at him?" Derek asked quietly, unable to think of anything else to say.

She shook her head, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"He's my best friend, Derek." she said, letting out a dry chuckle. "I don't like that he hid things from me, but ... I'll get over it. Just like I'll get over this."

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with hesitance and uncertainty, almost as though she was unsure of her words; like she was trying to convince herself that walking away was the best thing. Derek tried to speak, but he found that his mouth wouldn't function properly. The words stuck in the back of his throat, as he tried to think of something, anything, to get her to stay and work things out. But he had nothing.

Casey saw this in his eyes, and sighed, almost as though he had disappointed her. He knew that she had expected him to come up with some magic words that would make it all better; but if there was one thing Derek knew about himself, it was that he was terrible with words; especially in situations like these. He hated disappointing her; but he knew that, if he were to speak, he'd mess everything up more than he already had. So he simply nodded, allowing her to step past him. Her shoulder brushed gently with his, and he wanted to reach out and grab her; press her up against the wall and kiss her again, until it felt right again. Until he felt like she forgave him, and that he deserved to have her. Until he convinced her that they were right for each other.

But he knew that wasn't going to happen.

So he let her go.

And the second she was gone, his fist connected with the wall.

Whether the cracking sound he heard was the wall, or his knuckles, he wasn't sure. Judging by the throbbing pain that was now shooting through his hand, he was willing to take a wild guess and say that it was his knuckles; but he didn't really care.

All he cared about was Casey.

And, like everything else in his life, he'd screwed over his chances with her again.

But for some reason, it wasn't messing up that bothered him. What bothered him, was the fact that she was right. He hadn't changed. He was still the same arrogant player that he had been back in high school. His father had been right; he had cheated on other girls since Casey. And, as much as he tried to tell himself that he'd never do the same to her, he couldn't really be sure. He had spent so long going from girl to girl, that he wasn't too sure how much self control he had when he was placed around other girls. Maybe she was right; maybe being with her would have been a mistake; until he learned how to control his hormones, at least.

But he didn't want to be apart from her. He wanted her; and he wanted a second chance. He just didn't want to hurt her.

He slumped down against the wall.

He didn't know _what _he should do anymore. He knew what he wanted, and what he needed.

He just didn't know what he deserved to have.

- - - - -

Casey made her way through the front door of their parent's house; trying desperately not to turn around and go make up with Derek. She was relieved to find that Cole hadn't moved from the front steps. He was still sitting there, his head in his hands. It was clear that he had barely moved since she left. All thoughts of Derek immediately evaporated as she realized that she'd really been hurting Cole by ignoring him.

"Cole," she said softly, bending down and placing a hand on his shoulder.

Cole jumped at the contact, but when he caught sight of Casey, his eyes softened, and he offered her a shaky smile.

"Casey?" he said softly, turning his body a little so that he could see her.

She flashed him a guilty smile, and settled in next to him.

"Are you talking to me now?" he asked nervously, lacing his fingers together in front of him. "Not that I deserve it, or anything."

"The thing is; you do." she said, letting out a deep breath.

Cole glanced at her, his eyes sparkling with uncertainty and hope.

"What do you mean?" he asked, clearly unsure of what was happening.

She sighed, rubbing her hands together and propping her elbows up against her knees. Staring down the road, she struggled to think of an answer.

"It was unfair of me to freeze you out like I did." she admitted, feeling as though the weight of the world had been lifted off of her shoulders. "I really wish that you had told me about Matt sooner; but I guess the main thing is that you told me. It took a lot of courage to come clean, and I'm proud of you for it."

Cole visibly relaxed, letting out a deep breath.

"You're my best friend, Cole." she reminded him, giving him a kind smile. "I don't want to risk losing our friendship over some guy who chose to cheat on me."

"Neither do I." he admitted, grinning at her. "So are we okay?"

Casey grinned right back at him, before nodding.

"Yeah, we're okay." she said.

Cole reached out, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and felt him kiss the side of her head.

"I'm sorry, Case." he murmered into her hair. She closed her eyes in appreciation; happy that they had worked things out. "I'm so, so, sorry. I should've told you about Matt before, but I couldn't. I didn't want to hurt you, but I know I did anyway."

"It's okay." she assured him, pulling back, but keeping her arms around his neck. She grinned, and reached up with one hand, ruffling his hair. "You know I still love you."

Cole pouted, and let go of Casey long enough to fix his hair.

"What'd I tell you about the hair?" he asked, scowling at her now. She laughed. "Don't touch it."

"You're worse than Derek." she said.

Not a moment later, the smile disappeared off her face, and her heart sank at the mention of Derek. Cole instantly took notice of this, and sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"So, you and Derek have certainly progressed." Cole said, knowing that she was clearly upset over this. "Care to talk about it?"

Casey bit her bottom lip thoughtfully, trailing her fingers along the edge of the step beneath her. She wasn't too sure on what she could say about this; she had no clue what was going on between her and Derek.

"How do you feel about him?"

She knew the answer to that.

"How do I feel about him?" she repeated, laughing. "I hope you've got some time. The boy's a mess. He's totally sweet to me all week. He comforted me last night, and we fell asleep together on the couch. He acts totally perfect; and then he kisses me, and everything is turned completely upside down. He says it was a mistake, but he doesn't regret it. Kissing me doesn't feel right, yet he wanted to do it. The boy is a total mess of emotions. I don't think he'll _ever_ be able to keep a steady relationship, and yet I find myself wanting to be with him, despite it all."

Cole's eyes had widened at some point throughout her little tirade, and he was watching her with a mix of shock and confusion. His grip on her shoulders never loosened, but he pulled back a bit, clearing his throat.

"Wow, Case." he said, shaking his head. "You say that_ Derek's _a mess of emotions?"

Casey stared at Cole for a moment, letting his words sink in; and not a moment later, she buried her face in her hands.

"Coleeee," she whined, her words coming out muffled into her hands. "What's happening to me?"

Cole laughed, and rubbed her back gently, trying to soothe her, though he knew there was no point. When it came to Derek, nothing could calm her down.

"You're dealing with the age old crisis of relationships, Case." he said, still smiling. Casey sighed, and laid her head down against his chest, frowning. "It'll all work itself out; don't worry."

"I really, really want to be able to trust him, Cole." she admitted sadly, staring off into space. "So badly, I do. And, I guess I trust him, to a certain extent. But not enough to establish a relationship."

Cole didn't answer. He merely continued to rub her back, resting his chin on the top of her head and staring off down the road.

"Cole?" she said suddenly, out of nowhere.

"Mmm, yeah?" he asked, sounding tired.

Casey drew in a shaky breath, clearly nervous about something.

"I still love him." she admitted, just as much to herself, as to him. She was blushing furiously, and her heartbeat sped up as her words sunk in. She still loved Derek. She hadn't even realized it until she'd said it to Cole; but she did.

Cole, however, didn't seem at all surprised by this. He didn't show much of a reaction. He kept his body completely still, showing no signs that her confession had suprised him. In fact, he nodded, almost as though he had suspected this all along.

"I know, Case." he said, sighing. "I know."

"I'm afraid to commit to him." she said, biting her lip

"Understandable." Cole mumbled against her hair. She frowned, concentrating on the ground. "Maybe he's scared too."

His voice was confident and steady, yet it was laced with every trace of suggestion that Casey could imagine. It was almost as though he was trying to support her, yet show her that she wasn't the only one with mixed feelings in this situation. She definitely had those. She lifted her head up off of Cole's shoulder, running a hand through her hair casually.

She had no clue what to do about Derek. She'd just let him down as easily as possible, thinking that this was what was best. But she still felt unsatisfied with the situation. She felt like she had left so much unfinished with him; and that didn't feel right.

She let out a sad sigh, leaning her head against Cole's shoulder again. She was starting to regret coming on this trip in the first place. As much fun as she had been having lately, she hated what it had done to her emotions. And it was times like these that she was really glad she had a best friend like Cole to help her.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. There are still quite a few chapters left, so no worries. But please, review. Im currently writing chapter fifteen, so I am going to try and finish it by tomorrow. ) Review!**


	15. Broken Bones and Alcohol

**This chapter is pretty long, and it's a bit off track. Half of this chapter is based around Cole, which is definitely unusual for this story; seeing as it's usually either revolved around Casey or Derek, but ... you'll see why. Anyway, read and review. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter Fifteen: Broken Bones and Alcohol**

Cole walked into the kitchen three hours later to see Casey wiping the counter absent mindedly, whistling to herself. He looked down to see what she was cleaning up, and, upon seeing that it was blood, he visibly tensed. He froze in the doorway, his eyes widened at his best friend.

"Casey," he said slowly, taking a few steps forward. She nodded in recognition of her name. "Please tell me you didn't kill Derek."

Casey looked up at him as though he was crazy, before rolling her eyes and turning to the sink to wash her hands. Cole panicked, and crossed the room to stand next to her.

"Come on, Casey," he said, watching as she scrubbed her hands clean. "I know Derek got you mad, but you can't just kill a guy everytime he-"

"Casey killed a guy?" Derek said, walking into the kitchen with a towel wrapped around his hand. "Well that's not surprising, really. I always thought she was a bit of a psychopath."

"Shut up, Derek." Casey mumbled, turning off the taps and drying her hands on a nearby cloth.

Cole glanced from Casey to Derek, before visibly relaxing, and muttering 'Thank God', under his breath.

"I didn't kill anyone." she informed Cole, placing her hands on the counter behind her and hoisting herself up onto it so that she could sit down. She nodded towards Derek. "That idiot over there punched a wall, and broke his knuckles."

"You _what_?" Cole asked, spinning around to face Derek, who was staring at the floor, blushing furiously. Cole walked over and gently brought Derek's hand up in front of him, examining the swelling on his hand. "What the hell did you punch; brick?"

Derek yanked his hand away from Cole, scowling. He shoved the wounded hand into the pocket of his jacket, and sat down on the nearest bar stool, using his free hand to prop his head up.

"I'm fine, really." he lied, trying not wince at the pain that was shooting up his hand, and through his arm. He nodded towards Casey. "This one is just overeacting."

"Derek, you can't even move it." she pointed out, rolling her eyes at him. "I really think you need to go to the hospital."

"Did I ask for your advice?" he snapped, glaring at her. He tried to ignore the hurt that flickered across her face when he yelled at her. He hated that he was treating her like this, but he couldn't stand acting like everything was perfectly okay between them, when it wasn't. He forced himself to look away from her, not wanting to see that he had hurt her.

"Forget it." she said, pushing herself up off of the counter, and tossing the bandage that she had set aside towards him. "Put on your own damn bandage, and take yourself to the hospital."

With that, she stormed out of the room and ran up the stairs, trying to act like he hadn't gotten to her, when they both knew he had. The second her footsteps had faded away, and her bedroom door had been heard closing, Derek let out a deep breath, and slammed his good fist down against the counter.

"Dammit." he muttered under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut.

Cole took a seat on the stool across from Derek, shaking his head at him.

"Derek, dude." he said, grabbing Casey's half finished can of diet soda off the counter, and taking a sip. "You've got to get your act together. Are you _trying _to get Casey to hate you?"

"She already hates me." Derek said quietly, cringing at the thought. "Or at least, she should, if she's got any common sense."

"Well she doesn't." Cole said, shaking his head. "But if you don't stop acting like a jerk, she will; is that what you want?"

Derek raised his gaze to meet Cole's, his face still flushed with anger and embarassment of what he'd said to Casey. Slowly, he shook his head, indicating that it wasn't.

"No," he said, frowning. "I don't want her to hate me. It's just ... it's really akward."

"You can't yell at her just because you find it akward." Cole reminded him, taking another sip of Casey's soda. "She finds this just as weird as you do, I'm sure."

"Doubt it." Derek muttered, before looking away.

Cole sighed, sensing that Derek wasn't going to talk about this with him. He stood up, grabbing Derek's car keys and his own jacket off of the counter next to him.

"Come on," he said, motioning towards the door. "I'll drive you to the hospital myself."

"I'm fine, really." Derek said, waving his wounded hand at Cole, but wincing at the pain, circling his free hand around his wrist, and nodding.

"Hospital, right." he said, grabbing his coat, and following Cole out the back door.

- - - - -

"I told you that had to be properly bandaged." Cole said, gripping the steering wheel, and turning to the right, onto a nearby parking lot. Derek raised an eyebrow at him as Cole brought the car to a stop.

"What are you doing here?" he asked him, not opening up his car door. "I thought we were going back home."

Cole blushed, and shrugged his shoulders casually.

"Casey told me about this place." he said, tossing the keys to Derek, who stowed them in his pocket. "She said you guys always used to come here before you moved to Toronto."

Derek looked up at the club, and the line of people that were standing out front, waiting to get inside. Out back, on the patio, coloured lights could be seen flashing and pulsating against the pavement.

"Yeah, we did." he sighed, grinning at the memories that they'd had here. "We were only eighteen of course, so we had to get in with fake ID's-"

"Casey had a fake ID?" Cole asked, laughing with disbelief.

"Yeah, she did." Derek said, laughing softly. "She sort of loosened up a bit when we started going out. Or maybe she just didn't trust me to go to a club like this by myself."

Derek trailed off, as he realized that she had probably been right about that. The last time that he'd gone to a club without her, during their relationship, he had wound up bringing home another girl. He shuddered at the memory, and pushed open his car door, joining Cole as they walked towards the lineup.

"I can only stay for a little while." Derek said, as they fell into line behind a group of younger girls, who giggled, and threw the two boys flirtatious smiles. Cole blushed, stuffing his hands in his pockets and glancing at the ground. Derek, however, jumped right into character, and smirked, running a hand casually through his hair. The girls blushed furiously, and turned away, giggling uncontrollably. The second they weren't looking, Derek smacked Cole lightly on the shoulder.

"Dude, what was that?" he hissed, keeping his voice down so that the girls wouldn't hear him.

"What was what?" Cole asked, raising an eyebow as though he had no clue what Derek was talking about. Derek sent him a pointed look, and he sighed. "I'm shy, okay?"

"Watch the master." Derek said, grinning at Cole as they showed their ID's, and walked on into the club, where there was a fairly decent dance number playing. He led Cole over to a group of girls, who were standing near one of the counters, chatting away, with the occasional giggle or squeal.

"Hello, ladies." he said smoothly, leaning up against the counter on one elbow. "You're all looking very ... radiant, tonight."

The three girls blushed, and giggled, shooting each other excited looks. Derek took this opportunity to steal a glance at Cole, who once again had both hands stuffed into his pockets, and was staring hard at the floor. Derek nudged him, but he didn't look up. Derek sighed. Cole would leave here tonight with at least one girl's number; he would make sure of it.

"Care to introduce yourselves?" he said, sending them one of his famous smirks, and blowing a loose piece of hair off of his forehead. The girls looked hesitant, and Derek grinned. "Alright, I'll go first. I'm Derek, and this is my friend Cole. He's a bit on the shy side. Now, care to tell us your names?"

"Well I'm Lynne." the first girl said, motioning towards herself. She pointed to the next girl. "That's Hailey, and that's Kallie."

For a split second, Derek didn't even recognize what had just happened. He gave a casual nod, racking his brain for his next line, when he realized that Cole's head had snapped up, and that the third girl, Kallie, was staring at Cole with equal shock and surprise. He heard Cole breathe out a very quiet, "Kallie.", before freezing completely.

"So where are you two from, anyway?" Lynne asked, smiling at Derek, who just wasn't interested anymore. His main goal for the night had been to help Cole find a girl; but it was apparant that this wouldn't be necessary anymore.

"Uh, can you excuse us?" Derek said, grabbing Cole by the collar of the shirt, and pushing him away from the girls, who instantly engaged in conversation. Derek dragged Cole off towards the wall, and practically threw him against it.

"That's ... that's Kallie?" Derek asked, glancing back at the girl, who was still staring at Cole in shock, while both of her friends attempted to make her speak. Derek studied her carefully. She was very pretty. She was about the same height as Casey, and had blonde hair that fell past her shoulders, highlighted with three brown streaks on each side. She had a bit of a tan, and her eyes were a soft shade of brown. Cole's eyes were fixed on her, and his mouth was hanging open. Derek shot him a weird look, and snapped his fingers in front of Cole's face.

"Uh, dude?" he said, waving a hand frantically to try and get his attention. "Cole? Come on, come back. Cole!"

Finally, he managed to tear his eyes away from Kallie long enough to face Derek.

"I haven't seen her in almost five years." he choked out, his voice weak. "Five years, Derek. How can I just ... face her? She _hates _me."

"I doubt that she hates you." Derek assured him, rolling his eyes. "Come on, dude, just go talk to her. I'm sure she wants to hear how you're doing. It can't hurt, can it?"

"Uh, yeah, it can hurt; a lot, actually." he whispered furiously, running a hand through his hair. "Derek, I'm freaking out here! What if she yells at me? What if she still hates me? What if she's got a boyfriend? God, that would kill me. Or even worse; what if she's _married_? What if she doesn't even want me to talk to her? What if-"

''Cole!" Derek cried, gripping his friend's shoulder urgently, causing him to fall silent. He gave a surprised chuckle. "Dude, I've never seen you freak like this. Calm down, and just ... go talk to her. Everything will be okay. If you need me ... I'll just be ... getting a drink."

"You mean you aren't going to hit on one of those other girls?" Cole asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

Derek glanced around at all of the girls in the room, dressed in revealing clothing and dancing beautifully to the music. He cringed, his hormones screaming at him to go and ask a girl to dance, but he forced himself to turn back to Cole, and shake his head.

"No, I'm not." he said, trying with every ounce of his willpower not to turn around and watch those girls again. It was moments like these that he just knew that Casey was right; he wasn't ready for a relationship. "I kissed Casey this morning and ... it would be wrong to go out and starting flirting with other girls after all I put her through today. I'm going to steer clear of girls until I get back to Toronto."

"I guess that makes sense." Cole said, taking in a deep breath. "You really think I should talk to her?"

"What was it you said to me earlier?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow. "If you had a chance like that with Kallie you'd ..."

"-take it." he finished, sighing. "You're right; I'd be a hypocrite if I walked away from her now. But I now fully appreciate how hard it is for you to talk to Casey."

"Shut up." Derek cut him off, smacking his shoulder lightly. Cole shot him a strange look, unsure of what Derek meant, but he grinned at Cole, urging him forwards. "Go talk to Kallie."

Cole gave a hesitant nod, and brushed past Derek. Derek watched as Cole nervously made his way back to the group of girls, looking very much like he wanted to turn and run as far as he could in the other direction. Derek saw him say something to them, before taking a step forwards and placing a hand gently on Kallie's back, leading her away from the other two.

Derek watched, with a small smile on his face. He could only hope that things between those two would work out a lot better than they had with him and Casey. Being in the club, surrounded by half dressed girls, all of whom he found extremely good looking and tempting, was proving to him that Casey was right, but yet he was right at the same time. Yes, he had the urge to go out there and find himself a girl to get with that night ... but at the same time, he knew that none of those girls could ever compare to Casey. He couldn't see himself finding a girl in this club that he would be willing to treat like he had once treated Casey. He'd never be able to create a relationship like theirs again. But at the same time, he knew that he wasn't ready to hold onto a relationship like their old one, again.

Cursing, he made his way over to the bar, ordering the first alcoholic beverage that came to his mind. He was vaguely aware that Cole and Kallie had gone outside, most likely to talk. But right now, he didn't really care where Cole had gone. He needed to sort out his thoughts, and he knew that; but right now, he just wanted to forget it. He wanted to forget about Casey, about their old relationship, and about his love life in general. Somewhere in the back of his mind, on his third drink, he remembered that he was a bit of an idiot when it came to alcohol. But considering the fact that he didn't deserve Casey anyway, he figured that there wasn't much at stake, anymore.

- - - -

"What are you doing in London, of all places?" Kallie asked, hugging her knees to her chest, as she sat on the edge of the curb, the darkness creating an eerie feeling around them.

"You know that guy I was here with?" Cole asked, pacing back and forth slowly in front of her, finding that he didn't have it in him to sit next to her. Kallie nodded. "I'm here with his stepsister."

Cole noticed that Kallie tensed visibly upon hearing those words, and he immediately rushed to explain himself.

"She's my best friend." he assured her, noting how her entire body seemed to relax, at that. He wanted to take that as a good sign, but he wasn't so sure that he should.

She nodded, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear carefully. She stared at the black pavement, clearly at a loss for words.

"Why are you here?" Cole asked, scuffing his sneaker against the side of the curb, and trying his best to keep the conversation going.

"My friends and I just decided to take a drive across Ontario this summer." she said, shrugging. "We're leaving here tomorrow."

"I'm leaving tomorrow, too." he told her, smiling softly. "I've got to go away for business."

She nodded, glancing away again. Cole shivered, the cool wind blowing his hair back off his face. For a summer's night, it was fairly cold out, but he would rather be outside, and talking to Kallie, than inside, with an emotional and probably half drunk, Derek. They had gone around to the side of the building, where it was dark and cold, yet secluded and isolated.

Sighing, he took a seat next to her on the curb, staring out at the lights of houses that shone off in the distance.

"It's been a really long time." he noted, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "I haven't talked to you since we got into that fight."

"Yeah, I know." she said, chewing on her bottom lip. "You could've called."

"I did call." he reminded her, remembering the dozens of messages that he had left on her answering machine throughout the week before she'd moved to British Columbia. "You didn't answer your phone."

"You called for a week, Cole." she said sadly, giving him a sad smile. "What about the other four and a half years? Why didn't you call me then?"

"You didn't give me your number." he said simply, shrugging.

"I have a family, Cole." she reminded him, raising an eyebrow. "A family that, to my knowledge, offered to give you my phone number countless times. From what I've heard, you told them you didn't want it."

"I would've taken it if I didn't think you'd laugh at me, and hang up." he snapped bitterly, glaring at her. "You ignored every one of my phone calls and emails, Kal. How do you think that made me feel?"

"Like a jerk?" she suggested, anger rising in her voice. "Like you deserved what you got?"

Cole was about to argue with her, but when he gave it some thought, he realized that she was right, and that he had no right to be yelling at her, or blaming her for their breakup. He forced back whatever anger had been bubbling up inside him, and nodded, swallowing hard.

"You're right." he said, knowing it was best to just agree. She looked surprised that he was giving in, just like that, but nonetheless, she fell silent, poking at her shoe for a moment. Cole watched her carefully, trying to capture the image of her in his mind, so that he could remember this moment, even if he never saw her again. It felt amazing to be sitting right next to her, talking to her.

"Do you still hate me?" he asked, half afraid of the answer. "I'll understand, if you do."

He prepared himself to hear about how much she despised him, about how she still hated him as much as she had on the day that they'd broken up. As much as he expected these words, he knew that they would still hurt, when she confirmed it.

So when she shook her head, he was very surprised.

"I never hated you, Cole." she said, laughing softly. "I was mad at you; and I hate what you did ... but I don't hate you. I could never hate you. We've been friends since what, we were twelve? You helped me through my paren'ts divorce, you stopped anyone who teased me, and you ... you gave me my most meaningful relationship ... to date."

"You mean you don't have anyone..." he started slowly, but she shook her head, blushing slightly.

"I go out on dates from time to time, but ... nothing like we had." she assured him; and he could've sworn that she shifted a little bit closer to him. "How about you? Are you with ..."

"No." he cut her off, knowing perfectly well what she was going to ask him. "No one. I haven't really gotten over... I mean, I still like..." she looked vaguely hopeful, and he took a deep breath. "-you." he finished.

She looked thoughtful for a moment, before locking her gaze with his, and asking, in a very serious tone;

"You still live in Toronto?"

He nodded, gulping nervously.

She reached into her purse, and pulled out a blue pen.

"Give me your hand." she said, sticking the cap on top of the pen. He did so, and she wrapped her fingers around his wrist, not noticing how he tensed nervously at her touch. Quickly, she wrote down a phone number, before slipping the cap back onto the pen, and stowing it in her purse again.

"When you get back from your business trip ... give me a call." she said, smiling softly. "Once we leave here, we'll be going back to Toronto. I'd really like to start hanging out with you again, Cole."

Cole bit his lip, thinking everything over carefully in his mind.

"Hanging out with me as my friend, or as something more?" he asked, praying desperately for her to say that she wanted to be something more.

She grinned, and placed a hand gently on his knee.

"We'll see." she said, causing him to laugh a little.

Slowly, she lay her head down on his shoulder, allowing her body to relax against his. Instinctively, nervously, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

"I missed you, Cole." she admitted, staring straight ahead, at the ground. He felt his heart soar at that, at the idea that she hadn't ever forgotten about him.

"I know." he said, sighing. He smiled. "I missed you too."

The moment would have lasted a whole lot longer, if it wasn't cut off by a crash from the parking lot.

Cole jumped up, pulling Kallie up with him. They locked eyes with each other, but shrugged, neither of them knowing where the sound had come from. He grabbed her hand, and decided to check out what had happened. They rushed towards the corner of the building, to see everybody looking towards a silver car across the parking lot, that had just lightly brushed the curb. Cole groaned, and rubbed his temple in frustration.

"Dammit, I forgot about Derek." he said, rolling his eyes.

Before Kallie could even question it, he had dropped her hand, and darted towards the car, not even aware that Kallie was jogging along behind him. When he reached the stationary car, he leaned down in the open window, and saw Derek fumbling with the keys, which he had apparantly removed from the ignition.

"Derek, what the hell are you doing?" he asked, glancing quickly at the front end of Derek's car, which had a small dent in it. Derek cursed, and hit the steering wheel angrily.

"Trying to get this damn thing to drive." he slurred, the scent of alcohol staining his breath, and floating towards Cole and Kallie. "Stupid bump got in the way."

"Uh, you mean the curb?" Cole suggested, raising an eyebrow. Derek shrugged, and Cole sighed. "Whatever, dude. Are you okay?"

Rather than answer, Derek looked over Cole's shoulder, catching sight of Kallie.

"She know Case?" he asked casually, studying her carefully. "We gotta go get Case."

"Casey didn't even come here with us, D." Cole sighed, grabbing the keys from Derek's hands, and opening the door. "Come on, out. I'm taking you home."

Derek sat there stubbornly, grinning at Cole like an idiot.

"Out, now." he ordered, grabbing the collar of Derek's jacket, and practically throwing him from the car.

With great difficulty, Derek stumbled to the other side of the car, and managed to get into his own seat, and get his seatbelt on. Cole slammed the driver's door, rolling his eyes at his drunken friend. He took a couple of steps back towards Kallie, stuffing one hand into his pocket nervously.

"He got drunk that fast?" Kallie asked, glancing inside the car, where cries of 'Oops I Did it Again' could be heard. She raised an eyebrow, and Cole sighed.

"Uh, yeah." he admitted, blushing. "Dude's got a lot on his mind right now. Besides, we were gone for a good hour, I think." he paused, glancing at his watch, and noticing that they should've been back an hour ago. "Listen, I've got to bring him home, before he goes into a state of comatose. But I'll, uh, I'll give you a call, when I'm back in Toronto. Is that okay?"

"Sounds perfect." she said, and was surprised when he leaned down, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She blushed, her eyes darting away quickly.

"Night, Kallie." he said, opening up his car door.

"Night, Cole." she said, smiling. "Talk to you soon."

And with that, he got into the car, slamming the door, and blasting the radio to drown out Derek's singing.

- - - - - -

"Dammit, Derek; that was my head."

"You're too tall, then."

"No, you just keep shoving me into the wall."

"What are you two _doing_?"

Cole looked up, with his arm still around Derek's shoulders, to see Casey standing at the top of the stairs. She was dressed in her pajamas, and was watching Cole try to get Derek up the stairs, which wasn't proving to be an easy task. He could barely stand, and he kept saying something about wanting to go for a drive.

"Derek had a little, um, too much to drink." Cole explained, blushing, as he managed to get Derek up one more step.

"Drink?" Casey asked, raising an eyebrow. "You went to the hospital!"

"And then we went to a club." he explained, pushing Derek up another step, and stumbling. Casey rushed forwards, grabbing Derek's arm from the other side, and helping Cole to get him upstairs.

"Why did you let him drink this much?" she asked, a certain level of scorn in her voice. Cole rushed to answer, knowing that they'd already done enough fighting this week; they didn't need to do anymore.

"I wasn't with him." he explained, heaving him up the last stair, and pausing to catch his breath. "I was outside, talking to Kallie."

"Kallie?" Casey hissed, clearly confused. "Cole, what-"

"Just help me get Derek to bed, and then we can talk."

And that was just what they did. It took them almost twenty minutes to quiet Derek down, and get him to stay in his bed. Once they did, Cole joined Casey in her bedroom, sitting on the foot of her bed as he explained the whole story to her.

By the end of his explanation, she was grinning from ear to ear with excitement, and, before he could even ask what she thought of it all, she had practically tackled him into the bed, her arms tight around his neck in a hug.

"Cole, I am _so_ happy for you!" she squealed, pulling back long enough to let him straighten up, but letting her arms remain around his neck. "You're such an amazing guy, and you deserve this, you really do."

Cole was smiling too, at the thought of maybe getting Kallie back. But her words brought something else to mind, and he knew that it could very well start an argument again. But he knew that, if he was going to be a real friend to Derek, which he wanted to be, considering how well the two of them had been getting along all week, he had to say what was on his mind.

"I'm no better than Derek." he said, for the first time in his life. Casey pulled back to look him in the eye, shocked by what he had just said. Before she could respond, he rushed on. "You're always thinking of me as this amazing guy, who's never done anything wrong in his life ... but you're wrong. I hurt Kallie just as badly as Derek hurt you. And you like me, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" she said, shocked that he would even have to ask that. "You're my best friend. But Derek-"

"-loves you." he finished for her, smiling sadly. "He loves you, Casey."

"You dont know that." she said quickly, scanning his eyes for some sign of truth.

He nodded.

"He admitted it to me." he informed her. "He loves you, Case. He's just as scared as you are by all of this. Do you know that he's still beating himself up for hurting you?"

"Really?" Casey asked, taken aback by this. "I thought he'd gotten over that."

"He hasn't." he went on. "Not at all. I don't think he's going to forgive himself until you forgive him."

"I do forgive him." she said simply, shrugging. "I don't trust him completely, anymore, and he knows that. And I told him that I've moved on from it. But I really do forgive him for what he did. He doesn't have to treat himself like some sort of monster, just because of one mistake in his past."

"Have you ever told him that?" he asked knowingly, raising an eyebrow. Casey stared at him, her eyes blank, and he nodded. "Tell him, Case. He hates himself for what he's done, and I think you're the only one who can change that."

Casey thought for a moment. She had always assumed that Derek had known she forgave him. Sure, what he had done had been horrible, and she wasn't ready to trust him, again. But that didn't mean that she was still holding his mistakes against him. It would be wrong of her to do that; especially after how nice he had been to her all week. Looking up at Cole, she smiled, nodding her head.

"I'll tell him tomorrow, I promise." she assured him, knowing that she had to stick to her word. "I'll make sure he knows that I forgive him."

''Good girl." Cole laughed, ruffling her hair.

He leaned forwards, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Night, Case." he said, grinning as he walked towards her bedroom door.

"Night, Cole." she said.

He flicked off her light switch, and closed the door behind him, leaning against it, and staring at the ceiling. As he raised his wrist to check his watch for the time, he caught sight of the phone number that was scribbled on his hand.

He grinned, his eyes scanning over the number again and again, trying to memorize it. Tonight had definitely been a good night. His relationship was on the way to being repaired, and maybe, just maybe, Casey and Derek's was, too.

* * *


	16. Giving Into Desire

**Disclaimer: I do not own Life With Derek.**

**Chapter Sixteen: Giving Into Desire**

"Derek!"

Derek groaned, burying his face into his pillow. He didn't want to wake up yet. He was warm, and he was tired, and he wanted to go back to sleep.

"Derek!"

"Go 'way." he mumbled, almost inaudibly, into his pillow.

"I don't wanna go away." the voice said, sounding muffled, as though the person was chewing on something. "I'm waiting."

"Waiting for what, precisely?" Derek grumbled, willing himself to keep his eyes closed. He knew that the second the light hit his eyes, he'd be awake; and he definitely didn't want to get up yet. He hated hangovers.

"Waiting to see how badly you'll freak when you see that big ol' dent in your car." the voice finished innocently.

Derek's eyes snapped open, and he shot straight up in his bed. Jayden, who had been sitting cross legged on the foot of his bed, munching absent mindedly on a cookie, was taken by surprise, and his eyes widened as he toppled backwards off of the bed. He pulled himself back up, mumbling to himself about the element of surprise. Derek, however, was not concentrated on Jayden's fall, but rather on what the kid had just said.

"There's a _what_ in my _what_?" he cried, giving himself constant reminders to breathe.

"We'll repeat this nice and slow, so you get it." Casey said, appearing suddenly in the doorway, and leaning against his wall. She was grinning at Jayden, but when she turned back to Derek, she tried to hide her smile. "Your car, you know, the one that you're a bit too obsessional about ... yeah, it's got a dent the size of a crater on the front."

"It's _what?_" Derek cried, jumping up to his window, and practically throwing himself out the window in a hurry to see what had happened. Jayden laughed, and Casey bit back a grin, but Derek didn't find the damage all too amusing.

"Oh no." he said, running a hand through his hair frantically. "No, no, no. Not my car. What happened?"

"You ran into a curb with it." Casey laughed, crossing the room and taking a cookie from Jayden. "Good job, Der. You _did_ pass your drivers test, right?"

"I didn't run into a curb, did I?" he asked, scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion. He looked up at her, scratching his head in confusion. "I did? I don't even remember driving."

"Yeah, and I guess you don't remember getting wasted, either." she said, before glancing at Jayden, with worry clear on her face.

"What's wasted mean?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked back and forth between each of the adults, waiting for someone to answer. Both of them looked away, and he pouted. "Come on, why doesn't anyone ever tell me anything?"

"I tell you plenty of things, bud." Derek said, ruffling his hair. "But there's certain stuff that I refuse to tell you until you're a teenager."

"Oh; you mean like when I asked you what a lap dance was?" Jayden asked innocently, taking a bite of another cookie. Casey's eyes widened, and Derek fought back laughter.

"Uh, yeah, bud; like that." he said, choking over his words. He gave the kid a gentle push, urging him towards the door.

Jayden realized that Derek was trying to get rid of him, and jumped up, rolling his eyes at his gaurdian.

"Okay, I can take a hint; sheesh." he grumbled, grabbing his bag of cookies, and storming past Casey, out the door. "Bye."

"Where are you going?" Derek called after him, raising an eyebrow. He heard Jayden reply as he made his way down the stairs.

"I'm going outside to play street hockey with the kids down the street; where there are dangerous cars, older kids, hard pavement, and violence."

Derek paused.

"Wear a helmet." he said, shrugging, and listening to the door slam downstairs. He looked up at Casey. "He didn't bring a helmet, did he?"

She shrugged.

"Probably not." she noted, knowing that the door had slammed much too soon for him to have taken anything with him. He looked a bit worried, and she laughed. "Don't worry. He'll be back in five minutes; I don't think he realizes that nobody else is playing, out there."

Derek was going to respond, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, he felt his head give a painful throb, and he groaned, clutching his forehead, and falling back against his pillows.

"You okay?" Casey laughed, sitting on the edge of his bed, and looking up at him. "Really, how much did you drink last night? Cole said you were singing Britney Spears the whole way home, and when we put you to bed, you'd moved onto Ricky Martin."

Derek's eyes widened, and he blushed, half wishing that he could remember all of this, just so he would know she wasn't lying just to get to him. Then again, he wasn't so sure he wanted to remember himself singing hits from the nineties.

"Uh, I'm sure I ... was just joking around." he said, trying to act casual about it.

She shook her head.

"You yelled at Cole when he tried to drown you out with the radio." she said, sighing. "What was the last thing you remember?"

Derek thought for a moment, racking his brain for his last concious moment of the night before. When it hit him, he looked back up at her.

"Sending Cole over to work things out with Kallie." he answered, feeling confident. "Then, nothing really."

"You were the one who sent Cole over to work things out with Kallie?" she asked, smiling softly at him. "Well you did a good thing; she wants him to call her when he gets back to Toronto."

"Really?" Derek asked, feeling slightly better. He gave her a half smile, sadness still lingering across his features. "Well I'm happy for him. It's nice to know that some people can work out their relationships. They both deserve it."

Something flickered across Casey's face, almost as though she knew she had to say something, but, before she had a chance to say it, the door slammed downstairs, and Jayden's voice could be heard drifting up the stairs.

"Derek!" he called out, sounding disappointed. "Nobody's out, and I'm bored."

"And?" Derek asked, sitting up straight, and giving Casey a curious look. She blushed, and looked away, clearly still thinking hard about something.

"Come out and play hockey with me!" he whined.

Derek groaned. Between his hangover, and his injured hand, he was in no mood to play hockey. He knew that he'd be able to bribe Jayden with ice cream, and a trip to the park. He hoped that he could stop into a garage and get his car checked out along the way. He swung his legs over the side of his bed, and rubbed his eyes sleepily. Casey remained on his bed, watching him as he scurried around the room, trying to piece together an outfit. When he had all of his clothes gathered up, he turned back to Casey.

"I'm going to go get a shower." he said, reminding himself to take a Tylonol the second he got out of the shower, seeing as his head was throbbing painfully. "Tell Jayden I'll be down soon."

"Okay." she said softly, nodding, and looking away.

He recognized the distracted look in her eyes, and he wanted desperately to turn and leave, before he wound up getting in deeper than he already was. He only had a few days left of this trip; and the last thing was he needed was to get more emotionally involved that he already was. But he couldn't shake the look that had been in her eyes. So, cursing himself silently, he turned around, placing his hand on the doorframe.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, knowing that he shouldn't be starting up another serious conversation with her. They rarely led to anything good, anymore.

She nodded.

"I've just got a lot on my mind, okay?" she dismissed, shrugging. "Go get your shower."

He hesitated, but nodded, knowing it was best not to press the subject. He turned to leave, but stopped again when her voice stopped him.

"Derek?" she called, sounding nervous.

He turned, and nodded, motioning for her to continue.

"I forgive you." she said quickly, not tearing her eyes away from his. He shook his head, indicating that he didn't understand, so she rushed on. "For cheating on me; I forgive you. I hate that you did it, but I just think you need to know. I don't want you to be beating yourself up over something that I don't hold against you anymore."

He looked a bit taken aback, and surprised at her confession, but he nodded, unable to do much else.

"That's, uh, that's good to know then." he said, relief flooding through him. "I've always sort of wondered ... whether or not you, well, you know, forgave me."

"I do." she said, nodding.

There was an akward silence between the two for a moment, before Casey finally spoke up, feeling uncomfortablr with the silence.

"Anyway, that's all I really wanted to say." she said, standing up, and making her way towards him. Slowly, she leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I really value you as a friend, Derek. I've gotten to reconnect with you in this past week and... I don't want to lose that."

"Friendship, right." he said, forcing a smile at her. His cheek was tingling pleasantly from her kiss, and he knew that he had to get out of there before he wound up doing something stupid. "Well, bye."

He turned, darting off towards the bathroom, and, the second the door was closed, he leaned up against it, cupping his cheek in his hand. He wasn't so sure if he could do this for much longer. Everytime he saw her, the desire to kiss her grew stronger and stronger in his mind, and he found himself losing what little self control he had. All he wanted now was to get home, and get back into his regular dating game. One girl one night, another girl the next night; the way it was supposed to be.

- - - - - -

"Take a left, fool!"

"McDonald's is to the right!"

"It's to the left! It's always been to the left!" Jayden argued, rolling his eyes. "Your Dad took me there yesterday."

"Oh you've got a terrible memory." Derek grumbled. "I'll know McDonald's when I see it."

"Then I suggest you look at that McDonald's sign...to your left."

Derek glanced up hesitantly, and he blushed when he saw the big yellow sign that was towering over the parking lot. He looked at Jayden, trying his best to act calm and collective.

"I knew that." he said, parking the car hurriedly, and opening his door. He winced at the dent in the front of his car. "That thing is going to cost a fortune to fix."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, my meal is only five dollars." Jayden shrugged, walking on up ahead of Derek, who followed along behind him glumly.

- -

"The toy is the best part of the Happy Meal, don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"I mean, there's a different one in every meal." he noted, examining it with a silly grin on his face. He showed it to Jayden. "Scooby Doo, you like it?"

Jayden paused, with a french fry halfway to his mouth, before shaking his head carelessly, and swallowing his fry, rolling his eyes.

"I've got the weirdest gaurdian there is." he noted, sighing. "I didn't even know they sold Happy Meals to adults."

"They don't." Derek grinned, shaking his head. "They thought it was for you."

"You're such a loser." Jayden commented, rolling his eyes. He bit his bottom lip as he dipped his fry in ketchup. "So, your Dad told me yesterday that..."

"That..." Derek urged him, chewing on his burger.

"That he wants us to stay another few days." Jayden spit out, instantly shoving a fry into his mouth to quiet himself. Derek nearly choked on the sip of drink he had just taken in, and coughed, patting his chest to try and get his drink down the right way.

"He _what?_" Derek sputtered, frowning. "I told him I can only-"

"Oh, please, Derek!" Jayden begged, pushing his food towards the middle of the table again. He pouted, clasping his hands together in a begging position. "Please! Come on, it's only July, and I love it here!"

"I know you love it, but I've got ... commitments." he lied, taking a sip of his drink.

Jayden shot him a doubtful look.

"You don't have commitments." he pointed out, rolling his eyes. "Hockey doesn't start up until November, and you don't have anything booked for your filming for another two weeks."

"But-"

''Casey's staying an extra week." Jayden added, grinning knowingly at him. "She'll be lonely without Cole there."

Derek realized that Jayden was probably right. Cole had left for his business trip that morning, promising that, when he got back to Toronto, he'd come and visit Derek and Jayden regularily. Derek was glad that he had made a friend out of the trip, if nothing else.

And as much as Derek didn't like having to put up with his feelings while he was around Casey, he really was having fun on this trip, and if he went back, he'd be stuck with a bored, and whiny, eight year old. Besides, being around his family all week had really made him realize that, as much as he hated admitting it, he missed them when he was gone. He really wouldn't mind spending another week with them.

"One more week?" Jayden asked, grinning at his gaurdian pleadingly, knowing that he'd already worn Derek down. He raised an eyebrow. "Please?"

Derek rolled his eyes.

"Fine!" he said, throwing his hands up in the air. "One more week! But after that, we're going home, where everything makes sense. Where my car remains intact, girls don't make me go insane, I don't break my bones, and I don't turn into a Britney Spears wannabe."

Jayden paused, with a fry halfway to his mouth. His face wrinkled up in confusion, and he shook his head, deciding that it was best not to know what Derek meant, in cases like this.

"I'm not going to ask." he sighed, chewing on his fries again. "If there's one thing I've learned about living with you, it's _not_ to question your ... quirks."

Derek considered commenting on that, but he knew that it wasn't worth it; so he shrugged, and returned to his lunch.

- - - - -

"So we're going to be stuck together for another week, huh?" Casey asked, appearing in Derek's doorway. He glanced up, hitting his head off of the edge of his suitcase. He rubbed it, grumbling to himself, before nodding.

"Yeah, Jay really wanted to stick around for another while, and, you know, I didn't want to disappoint the kid."

"Mhm." Casey said, slipping inside, and closing the door behind her. "Sure. And you like being here with everyone again, right?"

Derek hesitated, his face showing every sign of weakness, and of defeat. He sighed, perching himself on the edge of his bed.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." he admitted, blushing. She sat down next to him, and he placed his hand on her knee. "We've been really stupid, haven't we?"

Casey chuckled softly, placing her hand on top of his, and nodding.

"Yeah, that's one word for it." she agreed. "We haven't exactly been model family members. We've blown off birthdays and holidays for years, just to avoid seeing each other."

"And was it really that bad?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. She shot him a pointed look, and he rushed on. "Despite what's happened in the past day or so, we've gotten along fine with each other, haven't we?"

She gave him a sad sort of smile, letting her fingers lace with his carefully. He knew not to read much from this; they were friends. She did this type of thing with Cole all the time. But that didn't stop his heartbeat from speeding up at the feeling of her hand in his.

"We really put our family through a lot, Derek." she said, blushing. "We've basically neglected them for four years, just so we wouldn't have to face our feelings. I'm surprised they even wanted us back, after what we've been putting them through. I feel bad."

"Don't feel bad; it was my fault, remember?" he said, sighing. "If I hadn't of screwed up our relationship, we would've gotten married, and I'm willing to bet visiting the family would've been a common occurance."

Casey looked up at him, surprise clear in her features.

"You've never mentioned the whole ... engagement thing to me before." she noted. "Do you really think we would've made it? I mean, something else might have happened. Or the same thing could've come up a little later. Or what if-"

"Casey," he said, chuckling softly. He brought his hand up to gently stroke her cheek. Leaning in a little bit closer, he smiled. "Stop living in the past. that's all over now. You can't sit here and second guess the life that we might or might not have had. We're here right now, like we are. And no amount of regret can change that."

"Right." she said, her eyes still locked with his, their faces only a few inches apart. "I mean, we can't change what happened, can we?"

"No." he agreed, the usual guilt flooding through him. His hand remained on her cheek, his thumb rubbing tiny circles there. "We can't."

"That's too bad then." she whispered, her eyes scanning his nervously. "Because the past ... it was pretty good, wasn't it?"

Derek gulped, nodding his head in agreement.

"Definitely."

Without really thinking about what he was doing, Derek leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, taking her by surprise. The kiss wasn't as fast as the last one. No, he took it slow this time, trying to enjoy it. He knew that he shouldn't be doing this, again. He knew that he was going to regret this later. But at the moment, it felt so right. His heart soared when she wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him back. Every rational thought and rationalization that he'd managed to establish over the past day or so was suddenly lost in passion, and his hands slid down to her waist, sliding up underneath her shirt.

Derek was momentarily taken aback when she pulled away, keeping her lips a centimetre away from his, breathing heavily.

"Derek?" she said, her breath warm on his lips.

He closed his eyes, wanting desperately to kiss her again. He gave a nod to show he was listening to every word she was saying.

"We can't change the past." she whispered, her lips almost brushing his. When he didn't respond, she went on. "But we can change the present."

He wasn't sure what was suddenly making her give into him, and, right now, he didn't care. He had forgotten about his lack of trust in himself. He had forgotten that she didn't even trust him. He'd forgotten every single barrier that had kept him from her all week. All he knew was that he wanted her, and she was giving into him. She was letting him win. Or maybe she was letting them both win. He wasn't quite sure; he couldn't even think straight, as she kissed him again, and pressed him down against his bed, her hands clutching his shirt desperately; for as long as it was on his body anyway. Which, incidentally, wasn't very long.

As she ran one hand through his hair, and pressed the other against his bare chest, he couldn't help but wonder how long she'd let this go for. He was half afraid to get too into it; for fear that. at any given second, she'd pull away, and run out on him. But, within minutes, he had her shirt off, and he knew by the desperate look in her eyes, that he had her. She wasn't going anywhere tonight. She wanted this just as badly as he did, and she intended on staying until he'd fully satisfied her, until she had gotten that feeling; that one moment of bliss; when everything just feels so right. And that night, he gave it to her.

He lay awake for almost an hour afterwards, unable to sleep. Four years. He hadn't done this with her in four years, and now? He'd done it. He'd told himself time and time again, within the past two days, that kissing Casey was wrong, and that he wouldn't allow it to happen again. Kissing, he could forget. But he'd slept with her, and he knew that was something he couldn't dismiss as something that had just happened. He'd let himself give in, and give her what they both wanted, and needed. And, as amazing as it was, he couldn't help but feel guilty throughout it all. Neither of them had any idea what morning could bring but, at this point, neither of them cared.

* * *

**So this chapter gave me some trouble, and I personally hate it. I was just having some writer's block. But, chapters 17, 18, 19, and 20 are pre-written, and the rest are pretty much planned out. As I said, twisty road ahead. Hehe. How quick I update depends solely on reviews now, since the chapters are written. So you know what that means. Hop to it. **


	17. Better Than Me

**Thank you for the feedback you've all been giving me so far; it really helps ) Anyway, if you couldn't tell; this chapter was vaguely inspired by the song 'Better Than Me', by Hinder. Anyways, read and enjoy . And review, too! ) **

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing; which makes me very sad.**

**Chapter Seventeen: Better Than Me**

It was five o'clock in the morning when Derek woke up to the sound of somebody flushing the toilet down the hall. He lay there with his eyes closed, and listened as the person returned to their bedroom and closed the door. He wasn't sure who it was. All he knew was that it wasn't Casey, because she was lying in his arms. The very thought of holding her was enough to bring a smile to his lips, one that he knew wouldn't easily fade. He opened his eyes carefully, his heart leaping as his eyes fell upon Casey, sound asleep in his arms. It had been real. It had all been real. He felt himself sighing with relief as he pressed a kiss to the side of Casey's head contently. He was having trouble processing and accepting everything that had happened within the past several hours. He couldn't believe that he had been with Casey again. That was something that he had definitely not expected to happen ever again. But it had, and now, they would have to deal with whatever would follow. He was pretty sure that he knew what was going to happen. She'd surely want a relationship with him after all of this. He knew Casey, and he knew that she didn't sleep with someone if she didn't want to be with them.

He tried to imagine having a relationship with Casey again. Everything had been so amazing before, until he had screwed it up. Every single day had been amazing, and all because she had been his girlfriend. He loved waking up in the morning with her right next to him, and falling asleep at the end of the day, knowing that she was still his. But even more than that, he had enjoyed every single moment in between; the playful tickle fights that they would always engage in, the way that they would manage to flirt with each other while they were arguing, or the dates that they would go on, that usually ended with Derek being rewarded when they got home, if he had been sweet enough that night. He would settle for any of it; the kisses that she always brought, the ones that would creep up at the most convenient of times, or the looks that they would share, even while in a crowded room. He would even settle for the feel of her hand slipping through his when he needed it most. Those had been the things that he had been forced to live without for four years, ever since he had cheated on her.

As this thought occured to him, he felt his stomach sink, and suddenly, he didn't feel so great about what had happened. He felt empty and unsatisfied. Sure, he'd just lived out one of his fantasies, with the girl of his dreams, but he suddenly felt terrible about that. He knew that Casey had slept with him with the full understanding that something would come from it afterwards. He didn't have to ask to know that this was what she wanted; a relationship. That was just the sort of girl she was. And, as much as he wanted to give that to her, as much as he had spent the past four years longing to be her boyfriend again ... he was afraid. He loved her, that much he knew, but he had loved her when he had cheated on her, too. He knew full well that he had a tendency of screwing up in relationships. Normally, he wouldn't really care about messing up a relationship, but with Casey, it was different. She was the one girl he didn't want to hurt. And as much as he would never intentionally hurt her, he had a way of accidently doing so every time he allowed himself to be in a relationship.

And, at that moment, Derek understood that there were only two options available to him, at this point.

He could go back to sleep and wait to see what the next day would bring. If Casey wanted a relationship, he could agree to it, and possibly have things work out perfectly. Maybe everything would go back to the way it had been before, and they would be happy again. But what if that didn't happen? What if he screwed everything up and wound up hurting her a second time? He knew that he'd never do it on purpose, but he was terrified that, somewhere down the line, he would do so accidently.

And to prevent that from happening, there was only one option. He could leave. He could get up right now, get Jayden, and drive back to Toronto. It would kill him to leave Casey after he had just gotten her back again, and he knew that it would probably hurt her when she woke up to find him gone. But it would hurt her more if he made a mistake like he had the last time. Unwillingly, his mind flashed back to the hurt look that had been on her face as she walked into the room and saw Derek making out with another girl. He cringed, and glanced over at her sleeping figure sadly. He loved her, and he wanted to be with her, he really did. But ...

He knew what he had to do.

It took every ounce of Derek's willpower to pull away from Casey. He stumbled around the room as quietly as possible, trying to gather up all of his belongings. He grabbed whatever he could find, stuffing it into his suitcase carelessly. He didn't much care if he left anything behind. He could always get his father to mail him whatever he forgot. His main goal right now was getting out of there without Casey waking up and questioning his actions.

Within ten minutes, he was dressed, and had gathered whatever belongings he could find. He took a deep breath, finding this a lot harder than he had originally anticipated. He stared down at Casey, who was still fast asleep. He had his suitcase clasped tightly in his hand, but he laid it down as he kneeled next to the bed, reaching out and tucking a strand of loose hair behind Casey's ear. He smiled as her eyelids twitched in recognition of Derek's touch. He allowed himself to stroke her cheek gently, wanting to make every moment last. He knew that leaving now would shove her from his life for good. She'd never forgive him for this. Every bit of trust that he had gained back over the past week would be gone, and their friendship destroyed. But it was better this way, for her anyway. He briefly considered leaving a note, but he knew that it would only complicate things further. Besides, there wasn't enough time.

"You deserve so much better than me, Casey." he whispered, ignoring the lump in the back of his throat. "I'm doing this for your own good."

He glanced at his watch again and saw that it was nearly five thirty in the morning. He knew that he needed to go wake Jayden up and get him all packed up, if he was going to be out of there before anybody woke up. He leaned forwards, and kissed Casey's forehead very lightly, as not to wake her. He pulled the covers up over her, making sure that she was warm enough, He felt himself shaking, and he found it nearly impossible to leave. Summoning up every ounce of courage he had, he pulled away, and picked up the suitcase again, heading towards the door. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob, and turned back towards the bed, where Casey was still sound asleep, probably thinking that she was going to wake up to Derek in the morning. He gave a sad sort of smile as he opened the door.

"I love you, Casey." he said, in a voice barely over a whisper. With that said, he turned and walked out the door. He didn't look back again. He knew if he looked back, he'd never leave. And he had to.

He made his way upstairs, into Edwin's old attic bedroom. He pushed the door open and crept towards Jayden's bed, flicking the lightswitch on and kneeling next to the bed where Jayden was asleep. He bit his lip and shook the little boy's shoulder carefully.

"Jayden," he said, trying to keep his voice steady, and his mind focused on the task at hand. "Jayden, wake up."

Jayden stirred in his sleep, but just clutched his pillow tighter, clearly not wanting to wake up. Derek glanced at his watch. It was already quarter to six. He needed to get out of there, and fast. He shook the kid's shoulder a bit harder, his heart beating fast.

"Jay!" he hissed, and this time, the boy woke up. His eyes opened up slowly, and he blinked a couple of times in the faint light. He squinted at Derek, before allowing confusion to play on his features.

"Derek?" he got out groggily. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Jay." he lied, pulling the covers away from him. "It's just that something came up, and we have to leave early."

"How early?" Jayden asked, glancing out the window. He looked back at Derek, eyes wide. "You mean as in now? We were supposed to stay for an extra-"

"I know, buddy, but something came up and-" Derek sighed, unsure of how to explain this. "Look, you can come back for Thanskgiving, I promise."

Derek had been sure not to include himself in that last statement, because he wasn't entirely sure that Casey would want him anywhere near her after what he was about to do. Jayden was frowning at Derek, clearly upset and confused by this sudden uprooting.

"But, Derek, I wanted to stay for the extra-"

"Jay, please." Derek begged, his heart beating faster and faster by the second. He couldn't chance anybody waking up and stopping him from leaving. This had to be done, and Jayden wasn't helping. "Please, just get ready, and get in the car. I'm really sorry about this, but we have to go."

Jayden studied Derek for another moment, as though he desperately wanted to argue. It was a sign of his maturity that he didn't. He nodded, and stood up, brushing past Derek and heading towards his suitcase to find some clothes. Derek told Jayden that he'd wait on the stairs outside of the room for him, and left, leaving the kid to get dressed and pack up his belongings. He tried to keep his eyes from wandering towards his bedroom, where he knew Casey was sleeping. The tiniest thing could make him go back, he knew, and he wouldn't allow it.

Luckily, Jayden only took about ten minutes to get ready, and by six o'clock, they were at the front door, ready to go. Derek bent down to zip up Jayden's windbreaker, as the kid had his hands full, and it was easier for Derek to lay down his things and help him.

"What about the soccer game?" Jayden asked, as though desperately looking for an escape. "Me and you and Casey were supposed to play Edwin, Lizzie, and Marti, remember?"

"You can play them next time," Derek dismissed, struggling with the zipper. He didn't have time for the stupid thing to get stuck.

"Well what about that picnic your Dad was going to take us on?"

"There will be other picnics, kiddo."

Jayden bit down on his lower lip, clearly running out of ideas to get Derek to stay. Finally, he looked up at his gaurdian, with reluctance clear in his eyes, and Derek knew that his next words were the ones that he'd wanted to say the whole time.

"What about saying goodbye to everyone?" he asked quietly, his eyes twinkling with an emotion that tore at Derek's heart. It was almost like fear. Derek's eyes locked with his as he got the zipper done up, but he stayed crouched down to eye level with the kid.

"Jay, we can phone them." he reminded him, shaking his head. "Besides, it's not like we're never going to see them again. They're family, and family always pops up a couple of times a year, right? We'll have another chance to see them."

Jayden stared at Derek for another brief moment, before shrugging out of his grasp.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he said, his voice wavering. "It's just that I sort of thought that about my Daddy, too."

That was all it took for Derek's heart to break. If there was one thing he hated, it was seeing this kid upset. Jayden was his responsibility, and it was his job to ensure that he was happy, and taken care of. And it was clear that he wasn't happy right now. Derek could see tears in the kid's eyes, and before he could say anything else, Jayden had pushed past him and ran towards the door. Derek, after years and years of being a top notch athlete, was, of course, ten times faster, and managed to grab a hold of Jayden's sleeve before he had even touched the doorknob.

"Hold up, Jay." he said, trying to look Jayden in the eye. Jayden purposely avoided his gaze, but Derek tilted his body sideways so that Jayden was facing him. His eyes were fixed on the wall behind Derek, and Derek gripped his shoulder urgently.

"Hey, buddy, look at me." he begged him, his voice wavering. "Come on, Jay, talk to me."

Jayden slowly and reluctantly shifted his gaze so that it was locked with Derek's. In that moment, he fully appreciated the fact that Jayden had suffered so much loss and disappointment in his young life. Him and Jayden were close, and they talked about almost everything together. Derek had thought that there was nothing Jayden wouldn't come to him with. But as he watched the kid in front of him now, he knew that there was something he had never quite touched on during his many talks with him. He had never asked Jayden how his father's death had affected him. Jayden had silently accepted the fact that his father was gone, and had dealt with it maturely, and Derek had been too wrapped up in his own grief at the time to question it.

"Why didn't you ever tell me you felt that way?" he asked, no longer caring that they were still inside the house. He'd promised to take care of Jayden, and right now, Jayden needed attention. As Jayden's gaurdian, his needs had to come before everything else.

"It doesn't matter, okay?" he said, trying to turn away again, but Derek wouldn't allow it. He let out a deep breath. "It's just that when my Dad left, I thought I'd have another chance to see him again, and then he died. I just don't like leaving without saying goodbye, because you never know what might happen."

Derek was silent for a moment, running through what Jayden had just said in his mind. And when he looked up at Jayden again, he held a new respect for him.

"That's very mature of you," he noted, realizing that this eight year old boy was possiblity acting more responsibly than Derek was, at the moment. "Look, you can call everybody as soon as we get home, and I'll even drive you up some weekend really soon to see everyone, alright? But right now, everybody is asleep, and we can't wake them up. But we'll come back soon, okay?"

"Promise?" he asked, looking uncertain. Derek nodded, vowing to himself that he'd come back for a weekend, once Casey had gone home.

"I promise," he assured him, grinning. "Now come on, we've got to get a move on."

And without another argument from Jayden, they were in the car. As he started up the car, second thoughts went racing through his mind, and he reminded himself that, if he stayed, everything could turn out great. He'd never know unless he tried. But it only took one flash of the look on Casey's face when he had cheated on her to go rushing through his mind, and he knew that he was doing the right thing. Ensuring that Jayden had his seatbelt done up, and that all of their belongings were secure in the trunk, he slowly backed up out of the driveway, and turned onto the road.

Like it or not, they were going home.

- - - -

"You bastard."

"Casey,"

"You sick, twisted, bastard."

"Casey, hear me out here." he begged her, leaning up against the brick siding of the gas station, with his cellphone pressed up against his ear. Predictably, they were only forty five minutes into their drive home when Jayden decided that he needed to use the bathroom. Derek had pulled over to the nearest gas station, only to have Casey call his cellphone, and greet him with the foul words he had heard only moments before.

"I'm not going to hear you out, not again," she snapped, and it was easy to tell that she was crying. "I _trusted _you, Derek. Do you know how hard that was for me to do, after everything you've done? I gave you the benefit of the doubt, and then you do this! How could you?"

"I know you're mad at me right now, but believe me when I say that I didn't-"

"Didn't what, huh?" she cut him off, not willing to listen to reason. "Didn't feel like sticking around and facing your feelings for once? God forbid you act like a real man every now and then! You're not a real man, Derek. You're the exact same as you were four years ago, only worse. You're a washed up coward, and you don't know how to face your own feelings."

"I can face my feelings just fine, thank you." he said, trying to stay calm. He tried to act like her words didn't hurt, but the truth was, they killed him. "Please, I never wanted to hurt you."

"You didn't want to hurt me?" she cried angrily. "How the hell did you think I would feel when I woke up and you weren't there; happy?"

"No, I-"

"I thought that you'd changed, Derek, I really did." she said coldly, through her tears. "But I can see now that you'll never change. I can't believe I was so naive."

Derek was silent, tilting his head back against the wall behind him. He prayed that Jayden would stay inside just a little bit longer, as he didn't want the kid to overhear anything. He couldn't think of anything to say to her. He had known, of course, that him leaving would hurt her, but it was better than him staying and hurting her even worse.He knew, however, that Casey wouldn't see this as a legitimate reason for leaving.

"Is this what you wanted, Derek?" she finally asked, her voice barely over a whisper. She didn't even sound angry anymore. She sounded defeated. "Tell me; is that the only reason you were nice to me all week, so that you could get me to sleep with you?"

"Casey, no. God, no." he assured her, his heart racing. "Please, don't say something like that. It wasn't like that at all. I was nice to you because-"

"Because you realized that I was just as stupid and foolish as I was before, right?" she challenged, sobbing. "Well you were right, okay? Maybe I am still as stupid and foolish as I was back when we were together."

"You're not stupid, and you're not foolish." he assured her, hating that she was putting herself down because of him. "You're amazing, and don't ever forget it."

"There you go again, with all your sweet talk." she said, laughing through her tears, though he could tell that it was meant to be bitter. "You're always sweet talking, Derek. You always get your way because you know just how to con people into doing whatever the hell you want them to do."

Derek didn't answer, because he knew that there was nothing he could say in his own defense.

"But it's alright," she said, trying to sound brave. "I'll be okay. I messed up, and made the mistake of giving you what you wanted. But it won't happen again. All I want now is to forget about you, and forget that we were ever together."

Derek cringed at her words, his eyes closing briefly. Her words stung, but he knew that he deserved every last one of them.

"You don't mean that," he said, rubbing his temple with his hand. He saw Jayden come out of the gas station, and head towards him, but he motioned for him to go wait in the car. Jayden scowled, but returned to the car alone. Casey was silent on the other end for a moment, before sighing.

"Actually, I do mean it," she argued, anger creeping into her voice again. "Don't bother contacting me anymore, Derek. I don't ever want to hear from you again, got it?"

"Casey-"

"Do you understand me?" she asked, her voice getting louder by the second. "I don't want you to call me, I don't want you to email me, and on the dreaded occasions when we are forced into our parent's house, I fully expect you to steer clear of me. I'm sick of dealing with you. You've fucked up my life enough as it is, and I think it's best that you just stay away from me."

"Don't you think that's more than a little bit-"

"I mean it, Derek." she said, her voice stern now. "We're completely over, got it?"

Derek swallowed, closing his eyes and trying to act like her words weren't breaking his heart.

"Got it." he said, curling his free hand into a fist. He wanted to say something more, but before he had a chance, she had hung up on him. He drew in a shaky breath as he closed his cellphone and placed it back in his pocket. There was an aching in his heart, and he knew that any chance that he had with Casey was completely gone. He had just shoved her from his life for good. And that was what he had wanted, wasn't it? He wanted her gone, so that he couldn't hurt her, right? Somehow, it didn't feel as right as he had originally anticipated. He sighed. It seemed like none of his decisions were satisfying him today. He stayed against the side of the building for another five minutes, trying to calm himself down before he had to back to the car and finish the drive to Toronto. He didn't want Jayden to suspect that anything was wrong, and he knew that he should be calm when he was driving.

Finally, he managed to regulate his breathing and get his heart beating at a normal pace again. Slowly, he walked back to the car and got into the driver's side, pulling his seatbelt across his chest and starting up the car. Jayden glanced at him for only a moment, before turning away. Even at eight years old, he knew when someone wanted to talk about something, and when they didn't. And this was definitely something that Derek would never want to talk about.

* * *

**Don't kill Derek! Or me, for that matter! There's still at least 6 chapters left. So let's keep that in mind. Hehe. Review, and another update should be up tonight or tomorrow. Depending on reviews, hehe. **


	18. We Are Family

**I love being able to update quickly; it makes me not feel so guilty. I'm glad nobody killed me after last chapter. I swear, I'm just waiting for someone to do it, hehe. Anyways, thank you for reviewing! Keep it up!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Chapter Eighteen: We Are Family**

A full month had passed since Derek and Jayden had returned to Toronto. Casey had meant what she said. She hadn't made any attempts to contact Derek and, like promised, he made no attempts to reach her either, even if he desperately wanted to. He had been completely out of character ever since they had gotten home. All he did anymore was lie around on the couch and stare blankly at the TV, whether it was turned on or not, and moving only to drive Jayden to soccer practice or to make his meals. He really didn't see how he could keep going like this. All he could think about was Casey. He could still feel her lips on his, feel her body pressed against his, and her hands on his skin. If he tried hard enough, he could recall her scent. He missed her more than he ever had before. Sure, he had missed her for four years straight, but he had been able to deal with it. But now, it was like he had been around her for too long, and had been spoiled by their one night together. Now that he had had her to himself again, it was like he couldn't go back to being with those who didn't matter. Because it was only Casey that mattered to him, and it always would be.

He had barely contacted anybody else in his family, for fear that Casey had told them what he'd done. He had a feeling that she wouldn't have done that, but the fear of talking to them was still there. His father had been calling him almost every single day, trying to get in touch with him, but Derek would just ignore the calls, or make up some lame excuse, saying that he had to go.

On the last day of August, Jayden came in through the front door of their apartment, skateboard tucked under one arm. Derek almost laughed at the sight of it. Jayden's skateboard was almost wider than Jayden himself. He turned his gaze back to the television as Jayden kicked his sneakers off and threw himself into an armchair across from the couch, kicking his feet against the side of it repetitively. He crossed his arms, but remained silent.

"What are you doing?" Derek asked, noticing that he was being stared at. Jayden chewed his bottom lip for a moment, as though contemplating whether or not he should say what was on his mind. Finally, he uncrossed his arms and gave Derek a searching look.

"I was just wondering," he started, looking thoughtful. "When are you going to stop moping around?"

Derek was a bit taken aback by this statement. He hadn't even realized that Jayden took much notice of his current state. Usually, Jayden was out with the other kids in the building, or out playing soccer at the park. Derek didn't think that Jayden had been around enough to even notice this. He raised an eyebrow, and tried to think of an answer.

"Uh, what exactly do you mean?" Derek asked, flicking the TV off.

Jayden shrugged.

"I don't know," he admitted, scrunching his face up thoughtfully for a moment, "It's just that ever since we got back from Toronto, you've been all sad. You don't talk to anyone, you don't go out on dates anymore, and you don't play soccer with me. You just lie there and watch TV all day."

"I like TV." Derek mumbled, averting his gaze from Jayden's. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jayden shooting him a doubtful look, and he sighed. "Alright, fine. I'm not in the best of moods, alright? But it'll pass."

"Well maybe it would help if you went back and apologized to Casey." Jayden suggested innocently. Derek's head snapped back around to face him, and his eyes widened. How could Jayden possibly know about what Derek had done to Casey? He couldn't have known what him and Casey had done on his last night in Toronto. He was a kid, after all. Kids weren't supposed to find those things out.

"Apologize for ... for what?" he stammered out, praying that Jayden had gotten the wrong story.

Jayden gave an innocent shrug of the shoulders, and Derek felt some of his worry ebb away, though by no means entirely.

"I don't know, but you should." Jayden offered, giving him a pointed look. "I just heard you guys arguing on the phone, that day when you made me go wait in the car. You looked all upset then. Is Casey mad at you?"

Derek found himself immensely relieved that Jayden hadn't found out about anything inappropriate for his age, but now he found himself struggling to explain himself in a way that would make sense to an eight year old. A very mature eight year old, sure, but an eight year old nonethelesss. He rubbed his forehead absent mindedly with his right hand, racking his brain for the right words.

"Yeah, Jay, Casey's mad at me." he admitted, glaring at the TV again. Jayden gave Derek a strange look, sitting up a little straighter, with his elbows propped back against the arm of the chair.

"So apologize to her." he repeated, shrugging as though it was no big deal. Derek sighed. As mature as Jayden was, he wouldn't be able to understand the complex world of love and emotions until he was, hopefully, much, much, older.

"I don't really think apologizing is going to do much for me, at this point." Derek said, remembering the harsh and bitter words that Casey had thrown at him during their last conversation, the day he had left. Jayden, however, was not willing to accept this answer. He pouted.

"But you've told me loads of times that I should always apologize to somebody when I hurt them, whether I meant to or not."

Derek stared at the boy in front of him, amazed at the mature way in which Jayden was handling the situation. Since when did he even listen to any of Derek's parental lectures, anyway? He opened his mouth to say something, but his mind was a blank; he had nothing. Fortunately for him, Jayden had more to say.

"Did you _mean _to hurt her?" he asked, sounding the tiniest bit worried. Derek didn't even have to think about this one.

He instantly shook his head.

"Not at all." he assured him, feeling absolutely confident about his answer. "I'd never want to hurt her. It just ... happened. I was doing what I thought was best for the both of us."

Jayden thought this over carefully for a moment, chewing on his bottom lip. Finally, he looked back up at his guardian, looking somewhat uncertain.

"So then ... you were wrong?" he concluded, raising an eyebrow.

Derek's first instinct was to disagree, and to tell Jayden that he hadn't been wrong, that he had done the right thing. But something in the back of his mind wouldn't let him; because, suddenly, he wasn't too sure. He had convinced himself that leaving Casey and returning to Toronto was the right choice. He didn't want to chance breaking her heart again, and having her feel like an idiot for trusting him a second time.

But even as he thought this, he realized that this reasoning was, essentially, pointless. By leaving her, he had broken her heart and hurt her, the two things that he had hoped to avoid by leaving her. It killed him to think that he'd caused her pain once again; but he knew that he had. Maybe, just maybe, he had made the wrong choice. Maybe Casey had been right about him all along. She had told him, during that memorable phone conversation, that he was a coward, who was too afraid to face his own feelings. She had taken a chance by allowing herself to be with him, and he had let her down. She had been willing to take a risk and give them another try. And Derek, he hadn't really given it any real thought at the time, being so caught up in the moment. And, as much as he had been convinced otherwise, he realized now that she had been right. He was a coward, and he had just let the most amazing girl in the world get away.

He turned back to Jayden, his heart beating rapidly with realization. Fighting back the lump that was forming steadily in the back of his throat, he nodded.

"Yeah, Jay." he said slowly, trying to accept this as the truth. "I guess I _was_ wrong. But there's not really anything I can do about it now."

"Go back." Jayden suggested simply, shrugging. Derek sighed. It was extremely hard to explain to an eight year old, with no real knowledge of what had really happened, why going back was no longer an option for him.

"It's complicated, Jay." Derek said, giving him a sad smile. "She doesn't want me to come back; she told me so."

"I bet she didn't mean it." Jayden said, kicking his feet against the base of the chair in a repetitive motion. "Remember that time that Riley told me hated me 'cause I broke his favourite remote control car, and you told me that people say things they don't really mean when they get angry?"

"This is different."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Nope."

"Yep."

"Is not."

"Is so."

"Derek!"

"Jayden!" Derek started, but then shook his head, as though trying desperately to rid himself of a bad thought. "Hold on a second, I'm not doing this."

"Doing what?" Jayden asked, smiling mischeviously. Derek grinned, before picking up the pillow that was lying next to him, and flicking it at Jayden, who smirked, and caught it. He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Jayden seemed to notice that Derek's smile only lasted for a brief second, before the laughter had died away from his features entirely, and he was staring off into space again. Jayden sighed.

"C'mon, D." he said, standing up, and moving to sit on the couch next to Derek. He looked up at him. "Just go back. I was talking to your Dad yesterday and he told me she's there. She's back again. She'll be visiting them for another few days. Maybe you can work things out. You always tell me not to let a stupid fight ruin a friendship. And you and Casey seem like you were best friends once, sorta like me and Aly."

"Aly, as in Alexandra Stoyles, the little girl who lives down the hall?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow. This brought a grin to his face, and he ruffled Jayden's hair. "Has my little boy got a crush?"

Jayden scowled, and swiped at Derek's hand, forcing it back down onto the couch.

"No, I don't have a crush on any girls!" he said, screwing up his face in disgust. "Aly's my best friend!"

"Mhm." Derek said, realizing that he should probably enjoy being able to hear that answer from Jayden. It wouldn't last forever, he knew. "Sure Jay, whatever you say."

"This isn't about Aly!" Jayden argued, blushing furiously. "It's about you! I'm sick of watching you mope around like some dateless, pathetic-"

"Uh, is this supposed to make me feel better?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow. "-because if it is, it's totally not working."

"It's supposed to make you feel lousy enough to go back to London." Jayden informed him, leaning back against the arm of the couch. "And I'm not going to stop until you at least try."

"But-"

"Try!"

"Jayden-"

"As your son, I'm ordering you to get up off this couch for a change, and at least try to make up for whatever it is you did!"

Derek opened his mouth to argue with him again, but, as Jayden's words sunk in, his mouth closed, the words dying away before they had gotten a chance to be heard. He stared at Jayden for a moment, realizing that he was now blushing. He tried to speak, but he found that no words were coming to him. He gave himself a moment, before finally mustering up enough courage to speak.

"My son, huh?" he asked, his voice shaking with shock. Jayden shifted akwardly, the blush in his cheeks growing steadily.

"Well, yeah." he said, sounding slightly embarassed, yet confident. "I mean, you've been there for me since I was like, two, and you took me in after my Dad died-"

"It was what your father wanted." Derek reminded him, not wanting Jayden to give him more credit than he deserved.

Jayden shook his head.

"It was what my father wanted, yeah, but nobody told you that you had to do it." he said, the blush fading away quickly as he grew more comfortable with his words. "My Mommy's parents wanted me, and so did my Daddy's. But you took me in anyway."

"Well ... it wasn't a big deal." Derek said, trying to shrug it off as nothing.

Jayden gave a forced laugh, shaking his head again. Derek raised an eyebrow at him, wanting him to continue.

"It was a big deal; to me anyway" he corrected him, before he started to ramble. "When my Daddy died, I was really scared, 'cause I didn't know where I was going to go, or who I was going to stay with. I was scared that I would end up with a bunch of people that I barely even knew; like my grandparents. I never really knew them. And when they told me I was going to be staying with you, I felt a lot better. And I know it's probably a bit of an annoyance to have to become a fulltime parent all of a sudden,and have to put up with having an eight year old around you twenty four seven, but you honestly don't know how much it means to me that I ended up staying with somebody who I already considered to be family. And I know that nobody can ever really replace my Daddy, because he was special, and I loved him, but I can accept that he's gone, and now I consider you just as much of a father to me as-"

He never got a chance to finish his sentence, before Derek had pulled him into a bone crushing hug, his arms wrapped tightly around the smaller boy. Jayden only hesitated for a brief moment to acknowledge what had just happened, before he returned the hug more than willingly. Neither of them spoke a word, but they didn't have to. A quiet understanding had just occured between the two of them, and Derek knew now, that the friendship he had always shared with Jayden had just become something more. They both knew that, no matter what happened, they were family now, and nothing could change that. Derek had heard millions of times about how amazing it felt to be a parent, and how there were those moments when you just knew how special that bond was, and Derek knew now how that felt.

It was a long time before either of them spoke. It could have been two minutes, or it could have been twenty, but all Derek knew was that, after the longest time, he heard Jayden's voice speak up, muffled against his shirt.

"Derek?" came the voice, sounding oddly magnified due to the silence that had been enveloping the room for a while now. Derek let out a deep breath, and pulled back a little bit, trying to make himself focus on the conversation again.

"Yeah, Jay?"

Jayden gave him a hesitant look, as though he was unsure if he wanted to go on. Reaching his decision, he locked his gaze with Derek's, and took a deep breath.

"You know, you've told me about how much my parents loved each other." he said, and Derek nodded. Jayden shrugged. "It's just that ... when my Daddy was still alive, I bet that he would've done anything to tell my Mommy that he loved her, just one more time."

Derek kept his gaze locked with Jayden's, but narrowed his eyes, unsure of what Jayden was trying to say.

"That's probably true." he said, nodding. "Go on."

"Well, my Daddy never had the chance to tell my Mommy that again, after she died." Jayden continued, frowning. "But you've got the chance. And I just think that you should take that oppurtunity."

Derek's heart clenched as he realized, once again, that Jayden was absolutely right. Although Jeff had never come right out and said it, Derek knew that one of the things he wanted most in life, was to be able to tell his fiancé that he loved her. Jeff didn't have that chance anymore; but Derek did.

Jayden's words really affected Derek. He knew that he had left Toronto with good intentions, but he had been wrong, and maybe it was time for him to admit that. Things with Casey could have worked out perfectly, if he'd given them a try. He had feared screwing up, but that could only happen if he let it. He could make his own decisions, and if he tried his hardest not to hurt Casey, then he wouldn't. He didn't know if she'd ever forgive him, and hell, he didn't even know if he would ever forgive himself for all that he'd done to her. All he knew was that he had to try. He couldn't keep going on like this; reliving their last night together in his head during his every waking moment, and in his dreams. He didn't want to live through a memory; he wanted to just get on with his life. A life that, he hoped, could include Casey. He was tired of only having her in his memories. He couldn't keep replaying their time together over and over in his mind; he wanted to experience it all again. He wanted to kiss her without the constant fear of her pushing him away. He wanted to hold her without wondering when he'd get the chance to do it again. He wanted to be able to tell her that he loved her, and be able to hear the words repeated right back to him. But, most of all, he just wanted to be able to call her his girl again. He couldn't live without her, and now he knew that.

But the only remaining concern was whether or not he could even fix this. He knew that Casey probably hated him now, and he couldn't blame her. But he knew that Jayden was right, and that, if he really wanted Casey, he would at least try his hardest to get her back. It would be a hard, but it was something that he was willing to fight for.

He looked up at Jayden with so much respect that Jayden was almost surprised. He gave Derek a sad sort of smile.

"You know, I've never really had a mother." he said, giving Derek a knowing look. "It'd be sort of nice to have somebody who might be able to come close to the real thing."

If Derek had needed anymore persuasion, that would have been it. Hearing those words come from Jayden's mouth is what settled the matter in Derek's head. Coming to his decision, he grinned, and clapped a hand on Jayden's shoulder.

"Why are you still sitting here?" he asked, unable to wipe the smile off of his face."Go grab your coat. We're going back to London."

- - - - - - -

It was pitch black outside. There was no significant source of lighting on the highway, meaning that Derek had to rely on his headlights, and the headlights of the other cars to see even twenty feet in front of him. They rarely passed another vehicle, probably because it was eleven thirty on Wednesday. Derek realized, once they were actually on the road, of course, that he probably should have waited until morning to go anywhere; but he simply couldn't want any longer. He'd kept her waiting long enough. It was about time he made up for his stupidity.

The radio was playing very lightly in the background, just loud enough to hear. Jayden had tilted his seat back a bit, so that he could lie down and rest. His hands were clasped together behind his head, and his eyes were half closed. Derek knew that he had to be tired. Not only was he up two hours after his normal bedtime, but he had exerted all of his stored energy for the day on playing soccer, and arguing with Derek.

"You alright, bud?" Derek laughed, sparing Jayden a quick glance.

Jayden's eyes shot open again, and he glanced around quickly, as though he was momentarily unsure of where he was. Recognizing his surroundings, Jayden nodded, rubbing his eyes sleepily, and sitting up straight.

"I'm fine." he assured him, focusing on the light of the digital radio as though the brightness would keep him alert.

"You can go to sleep if you'd like." Derek offered, not wanting to deal with a cranky, sleep deprived, Jayden the next day. Jayden shook his head, and reached for the volume knob on the radio. Derek couldn't help but smile; he knew this trick. Every year since Derek had known Jayden, he would always try to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve, using tactics such as loud music, ice cubes, and lots of light, to stay awake.

Derek glanced at the clock, smirking.

"Four more minutes and you'll beat your record." he said, focusing on the road once again. "It's eleven thirty nine."

Jayden glanced at the clock, and his face brightened.

"Sweet!" he declared, looking quite proud of himself.

Derek yawned, and resisted the urge to pull the car over, and get an hours sleep. He could sleep later. All that mattered to him now was getting back to Casey. Thinking for a moment, he realized that he still had absolutely no clue what he was going to say when he saw her. What could he possibly say to make him forgive her? A simple, 'I'm sorry', somehow didn't seem like enough. He could just explain himself to her, but keeping her there long enough to listen to him might be tough.

"Derek," came a voice to his right, which Derek did not register. He was much too busy wrapped up in trying to think of the perfect way to get Casey back.

"Derek?" Jayden tried again, his voice more frantic now.

Derek sighed. Knowing Casey, she'd need something sweet and romantic, yet something spontaneous and simple.

"_Derek_!" came Jayden's frightened and urgent voice.

This snapped Derek from his trance, and he turned to Jayden with confusion etched across his features.

"What_ is_ it, Jay?" he cried in frustration. "I'm trying to-"

Derek never got a chance to finish his sentence. The sound of a horn honking consistantly, right in front of them, caused him to whirl around again, only to find himself being blinded by the painful glare of a set of headlights, coming from a car that was racing, full speed, towards his car.

He never had a chance to react. His eyes widened, and he gripped the steering wheel as best as he could with both hands, trying desperately to veer out of the way; but it was no use. He had spotted the car too late to properly respond to it. Not a moment later, he felt, rather than heard, the car be struck front-on, and, the next second, he felt the whole front end of the car crush inwards, sending him further back into the vehicle. He could feel metal being pressed up against his chest and head, and he knew that he was bleeding. Every limb on his body seemed like it had been gashed open. He screamed out in pain, but his call was merely swallowed up by the sound of brakes, and glass smashing. He didn't even hear himself. Every inch of his body felt like it was on fire, but there was nothing he could do about it.

The car was flying through the air, towards a nearby ditch. The vehicle that Derek had possessed total control over only moments before, was now leaving him completely powerless.

But Derek never got to see or feel the car hit the ground again. The pain was too much for him, and he could feel conciousness slipping from his body quickly. The last thing he managed to do was turn his head towards Jayden, to see if he was even there anymore, and if he was okay.

But the effort was too much for him, and he saw white flash before his eyes. The last thing he heard was Jayden call out his name, glass shattering and, distantly, brakes screeching; probably cars trying to avoid the accident. And then, nothing. By the time the car hit the ground again, five seconds later, neither one of the cars occupants were concious.

* * *

**I repeat ... I'm surprised no one has killed me yet. Sorry about the cliffhanger. Review, and I'll update soon!**


	19. Life Lessons

**So I'm not totally cruel. I considered waiting until tomorrow to post this, but I figured that, since I left off with a cliffhanger, I should be nice, and update tonight. So here it is. Thanks again for all the reviews you guys are leaving, they really help! )**

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. **

**Chapter Nineteen: Life Lessons**

Derek felt like there was metal crushed up against his head on every angle, his headache was that bad. Every limb on his body seemed to be aching and tingling. He tried to lift his head up off of the soft material underneath it, but the effort was too great, and he let his head fall back carelessly, letting out a groan.

"Derek?" came a female voice to his right, sounding vaguely hopeful, yet worried. He gave a twitch but did not open up his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but that persistant voice would not allow it. "Derek, can you hear me?"

He let out a small sigh and began to open up his eyes. He squinted in the unfamilar light, a sharp pain twinging somewhere behind his eyes. He used his eyes to scan his surroundings. He was in a pale blue room, with very plain walls and a white ceiling. He could see numerous wires and tubes running around the perimeter of the bed that he was lying on; and they seemed to be attached to various machines, or to his body. He blinked a couple of times before turning his head as best as he could to the direction that the voice had come from. His heart leapt as he saw Casey staring down at him, concern etched across her features prominently. Her eyes were a bit red, and her hair was messed up, but she still looked beautiful to Derek.

"Derek?" she got out weakly, sounding as though she was frightened to sound too hopeful.

"Casey, hey." he got out, alarmed at how weak his voice sounded; as though it hadn't been used in ages. Casey seemed to register the same thing, and she winced, but gave a faint smile nonetheless.

"How do you feel?" she asked, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. "Do you feel okay?"

Derek struggled to pull himself into a more comfortable position, so that he didn't have to look up at her. Noticing his struggle, Casey reached for the underside of the bed, pressing a button that tilted the top half of his bed forwards a bit, launching him into a sitting position.

"That's better." he got out, his voice raspy. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." she said, looking distracted as she waved her hand dismissively. "Now tell me, how do you feel?"

"Well," he started, taking a deep breath. "My head feels like it's being crushed in at every possible angle, and I can barely lift or turn it, all of my limbs feel like they've been sliced open and I'm finding it very hard to stay awake right about now. Not only that, but my voice sounds like I just had a pencil shoved down my throat."

"You're just weak right now, that's all." she assured him, smoothing his hair back off of his face. Her hand brushed against his forehead, sending tingles through his skin that had nothing to do with the pain. "Do you remember what happened?"

Derek thought back, trying to remember. He could remember talking to Jayden at home, and deciding that he wanted to fix things with Casey. They had gotten into the car and started driving back towards London to see her, when the car had swerved into their lane and hit them. The last thing he could remember hearing was a scream from ...

''Jayden!" he said quickly, his eyes darting up to meet Casey's. "Where's Jayden? Is he okay? Tell me he's okay. God, Casey, please tell me he made it out alright."

His voice was harsh with unshed tears, and he was shaking out of fear and panic. When Jeff had died, he had trusted Derek to take care of his only child. What if Derek had just gotten into an accident that had killed off the one person he was supposed to take care of, the one person he had been trusted with? Casey gave him a slight smile, but Derek could tell it was a forced one, and he wasn't getting a good impression from it. Casey placed her hand over his carefully, taking a deep breath.

"Calm down, Jayden isn't ... he's ... well ... he made it out of there alive." Casey said, struggling to find the right words. Derek's eyes narrowed at her suspiciously. He didn't like the tone of her voice; not at all.

"There's something you aren't telling me, Casey." he said, his heart racing at an unimagineable pace. "If there's something I need to know about Jayden, I want you to tell me _right now_. I may not be his biological father, but he is, more or less, my son. And I deserve to know what's wrong with him."

Casey bit her lip and looked away, as though debating whether or not she should be telling him anything. His features softened, and his face fell with fatigue and defeat. He didn't have the energy to fight with her. He just wanted to know what had happened to Jayden. He couldn't bear the thought of that poor kid in any pain.

"Please, Casey." he begged, his voice barely above a whisper. "Just tell me. I need to know."

Casey sighed and turned his hand over in hers, slipping her fingers through his and giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"He hasn't woken up yet, Derek." she got out, and he felt his entire body go numb. Her words seemed to echo through his mind, causing more unbearable pain with each passing second. She saw the look on his face, but rushed on, trying to refrain from looking at him. "When the car rolled, it landed on Jayden's side, and the metal crushed in. He hit his head on that pretty badly. He had a lot of blood loss, but they managed to replace most of that overnight."

"Wait a second, overnight?" Derek repeated, confused. He raised an eyebrow. "How long have we been here? What time is it?"

"You've been here since about twelve thirty last night." Casey explained, her hand giving a twitch in his. "And right now it's about seven in the morning."

"Seven." he repeated. "So we've been here a long time then. Where is everyone?"

"Mom and George had to go and get Marti from the airport." she explained, glancing at the clock quickly. Derek raised an eyebrow, confused. "You really haven't been keeping much contact with anybody this month have you?" she asked, sighing. He blushed and bowed his head, ashamed.

"Never mind." she sighed, deciding that it wasn't important. "To get to the point, she's getting back from that school sponsored trip to Europe in about an hour, and somebody has to be there to pick her up and tell her what happened. Edwin and Lizzie just went down to the cafeteria to pick up some breakfast, and I sent Cole in to sit with Jayden for a while."

"I thought Cole was on a business trip." he asked, confused.

Casey shook her head.

"He came back last week." she explained to him.

Derek pressed the palms of his hands up against his eyes, trying to freeze everything out. He tried to imagine poor little Jayden; unconcious, unable to wake himself up, but it killed him. He couldn't help but feel responsible for the accident. He _had _been the one controlling the vehicle after all.

Casey seemed to sense what was running through Derek's mind and she squeezed his hand gently.

"It's not your fault, Derek." she assured him softly as his eyes raised to meet hers. "The car that hit you guys was having trouble with the steering column in his car. He lost control, and swerved into the wrong lane. It was unavoidable."

"I could have swerved off to the side-" Derek started, but he was cut off by Casey.

"-and landed upside down in a ditch." Casey finished for him, sighing. "Look Derek, the accident was _not _your fault, and neither was what happened to Jayden. But I do have a question for you."

"What's that?" he asked, sitting up a little straighter. Something in her tone suggested that the question was completely unrelated to the accident.

"Why were you driving back to London anyway?" she asked, chewing on her bottom lip almost nervously. "Why were you coming back?"

Derek let out the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding. He watched Casey, the girl he was in love with, waiting for an answer of some sort, and he knew he had to give her the truth. He was tired of running from his feelings, and he was tired of living without Casey by his side. He loved her, and he had to let her know that.

"Casey, I-"

But he was cut off suddenly when a nurse entered the room. She was glancing down at a clipboard that she was holding, her lips mouthing whatever words she was reading. When she looked up, she saw Casey first, before her eyes fell on Derek. Her eyes widened a bit and her mouth formed a little 'o'.

"You're awake." she said with a small smile. She rushed forwards with a little cup of pills that she had been holding and handed it to Casey. "The doctor will be thrilled to hear you've woken up. I'll get him in here as soon as possible."

She turned to Casey, who was still holding the little pill cup with confusion.

"You, on the other hand, have been asked by the doctor to take this." the nurse instructed with a faint smile. She turned to Derek. "You had your girlfriend here quite worried."

Derek didn't even get a chance to correct her before she was rushing on.

"She's been at the hospital all night. She was a wreck when she got here. We were afraid she was going to have a miscarriage with the stress she was under."

In an instant, the nurse seemed to recognize that she had said something wrong. She looked from the shocked looked on Derek's face, to the way Casey had her face buried in her hands, and understood that Derek had no clue that Casey was even carrying a baby.

''I'll just be going now." she said, before grabbing her clipboard off the foot of Derek's bed and rushing out the door. Derek was completely silent as he stared at Casey, waiting for her to say something. But she didn't, and he knew he was going to have to speak first.

"Miscarriage?" he repeated slowly, his voice shaky. "Casey, you're ... you're pregnant?"

Slowly, she lifted her head up out of her hands, her eyes meeting with his reluctantly. He saw the pain flash across her features as she nodded.

"Yeah, Derek." she said, her voice barely over a whisper. "I'm pregnant."

"How far along?" Derek asked, barely able to believe it. She wiped away a tear that had fallen and sniffed.

"About a month." she said quietly, sounding frightened. Derek thought back. A month. The news was only starting to sink in when he realized what this had to mean.

"It's mine, isn't it?" he asked unnecessarily. She nodded, and he felt his heart leap with an emotion he couldn't quite describe. All he knew was that it wasn't a bad feeling. "Casey, why didn't you tell me?"

She stood up, running a tired hand through her hair as she began to pace back and forth by the foot of his bed.

"You don't want this, Derek." she said, her voice laced with confidence. "I know you don't want this, because you don't want _me_."

"Hold up, Casey." Derek said, moving to get up, but he found that he couldn't. She looked over and took notice of his attempts to reach her. She sighed and crossed the room, perching herself on the edge of his bed so that he wouldn't have to move. He looked up and studied her carefully.

"What makes you think I don't want this, or you?" he asked, confused. "I never said any of that. You didn't give me a chance to say _anything_."

''So you're saying that you _do_ want me?" Casey asked, allowing hope to creep into her voice despite herself. Derek knew that it broke her heart when he shook his head, so he rushed on.

"No, Casey, I don't want you." he said, seeing the hurt flash across her features quickly. He reached up and gripped her chin, tilting it downwards so that she was looking him straight in the eye. He gave her a genuine smile and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear.

''I don't want you, Casey; I need you." he whispered, seeing the hurt in her eyes change instantly to surprise and then; happiness. "I love you. I've never stopped loving you. I can only hope that you still feel the same way; or at least think that one day you could feel the same way again."

Before he could say anything else, Casey had leaned down against him and pressed her lips against his, trying to make up for over four years of absence in that one kiss. She felt him reach up behind her with one hand to grasp the back of her neck, pulling her impossibly closer and deepening the kiss. When they both pulled back moments later, only for lack of air, they saw that their smiles were mirrored.

"I love you too, Derek." she said through choked tears. "I don't even think I stopped. I tried to tell myself that I had, but I can see now that I was fooling myself."

Derek smiled softly at Casey, brushing his hand gently against her cheek, making her eyes flutter shut at his gentle touch.

"Just promise me one thing." she whispered; as her eyes slowly opened up again. He nodded.

''Anything."

"Promise me that you won't break my heart again." she said, and he cringed at the memory of what he had done to her before. She rushed on. "I don't want to get involved with you if you're going to end up leaving me as broken as you did before. That hurt, Derek, and it took me ages to put myself back together again. So if you want to be with me, I need you to tell me that you're committed."

Derek thought for a moment, letting his hands trail down through her hair, coming to a rest on her neck. He let his eyes stare straight into hers for a few moments and; as he did, he knew that he had everything he would ever need in Casey. He had found love; and he would never need anything else, anything better; ever again.

"Casey..." he said slowly, his voice laced with love and care as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips and inhaled the wonderful, fruity scent of her hair.

"Yeah?" she whispered as he buried his face into the space between her neck and shoulder. He brought his face up to align with hers, both of his eyes darting back and forth between each of hers quickly.

He didn't take his eyes away from hers as he summoned up the courage to speak his next words.

''Marry me." he whispered. "How's that for committment?"

* * *

**Yes, don't kill me for the use of another cliffhanger. I didn't kill Derek, be happy. Yay! More about Jayden will be said in following chapters. The next chapter is mainly focused on Derek/Casey drama, though. But anyway, you know what to do ! ;-) The fighting between these two is nearly over, by the way, so let's be happy ) Still one twist ahead, though. **


	20. Apologies and Conditions

**There are about four chapters left, I think. At least three, possibly four or five, depending on how long it takes to get where I'm going. **

**Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing.**

**Chapter Twenty: Apologies and Conditions**

The only sound that could be heard over the next ten seconds was the consistant beeping of one of the many machines hooked up to Derek. Casey was still staring down at him, the smile that had been on her face moments before long gone. He kept a firm hold on the back of her neck, not wanting her to pull away from him again. His eyes searched hers desperately as he waited for her to say something. Finally, she realized that she had to answer him eventually, and she cleared her throat, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear to distract herself. She sat up a bit straighter.

"That's a little ... umm, _sudden, _don't you think?" she asked him, wincing. He shook his head, his face showing no hint of a smile.

"Not at all, Casey." he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Look, I already know that I love you, and you love me. And you're ... you're going to have our child, Casey. That's absolutely amazing. We're going to be parents, together. Like we always talked about before. Besides, we were already engaged once-"

"And look how that turned out." she reminded him, biting her lip gently. His face fell. "Derek, I really think that's rushing things just a bit."

"I didn't mean now, Case." he assured her, looking vaguely hopeful. "I meant eventually. After the baby is born, a year, two years. It doesn't make a difference to me, as long as I know that ... eventually, you will."

Casey ran a hand through her hair, letting out a deep breath. Her eyes were closed as she tried to process everything that had just happened. Derek waited nervously, feeling like the most helpless person in the world. He had put everything out there for her, and now, all he could do was pray that she wouldn't break his heart. If she were to get up and leave right now, he couldn't even chase after her like he should have the first time. But she didn't leave. She opened up her eyes after a few moments and gave him a pitying sort of look.

"Derek, right now, I really think there are more important things that you should be worrying about." she reminded him, trying to keep her voice as gentle as possible. His face fell, and she rushed to say something to boost his confidence a bit. "I'm not saying no, Derek; I'm really not."

His face flickered with hope.

"It's just that right now _really _isn't the best time to be making any big decisions like this." she said, killing the little hope that he had felt only moments before. "Your... for lack of a better term, 'son', is in the hospital right now, basically fighting for his life, and all you can think about is-"

"_Fighting for his life?" _Derek repeated, nearly yelling. The outburst took up a lot of the little energy that Derek had left in him, and he winced, letting his head fall back against the bed behind him again.

"Okay, yelling, bad idea." he murmered, clutching his head.

Casey's face instantly filled with concern and worry. She placed her hand over his gently.

"Derek? Talk to me here; are you okay?"

He squinted and managed to lift his head up again, trying to keep himself concious. He drew in a sharp breath and nodded.

"I'm ... I'm fine." he got out, struggling for breath. "It's Jay that I'm worried about. I want to see him."

Casey's face fell, and she turned his hand over, lacing her fingers with his. She frowned.

"Derek, I really don't think that's the best idea at the moment." she said. His face filled with anger and she rushed on. "Jayden's in a rough condition, and you're weak enough as it is. You shouldn't be leaving this room period, let alone to see something that will upset you."

"He's my fucking _son, _Casey." Derek argued, tears prickling at the back of his eyes. "I don't care what anyone says, because he is. And I happen to love him very much. And I swear to God, if he doesn't make it out of this thing, I will _never _forgive myself. And don't say it's not my fault, because I know it is. Jayden talked me into coming back to make things right with you. I knew it was late. I should have waited until later on today to even attempt driving across the highway. But I didn't, and now look where he is."

Only one thing that Derek had just said seemed to be standing out in Casey's mind. Her face softened considerably and her grip on his hand loosened a bit.

"You were coming back to work things out with me?" she asked, her voice filled with hope. He looked up at her, startled by her sudden distraction. He momentarily allowed himself to forget about Jayden as he looked right into Casey's eyes, swallowing nervously. He didn't understand how she could always make him feel this way. He felt like he never wanted to mess up with her. He always wanted to get everything just right for her. He felt like he wanted to be perfect, but only for her. Trying to keep himself from breaking off and kissing her, he nodded slowly, rubbing his thumb across her wrist gently.

"Yeah, yeah I was." he admitted, praying that this might change things. "The morning after we were together, I woke up and I was just lying there for the longest time, and I sort of gave myself some time to think about it. In the end, I thought that maybe you'd be better off without me."

Casey bit her lip, placing her chin in her free hand, with her elbow propped up against the edge of his bed.

"Why would you think that?" she asked, sounding almost frightened. "I don't make you feel that way, do I?"

Derek could tell that she was worried about being too demanding, or too high maintenance. He didn't want her to feel that way, so he quickly shook his head.

"No, Casey, not at all, don't worry about that." he said, kissing her hand gently. "I just figured that ... I'd hurt you once before, and I don't want to chance doing that again. I never wanted to see you cry, and I definitely never wanted to be the one who _made_ you cry. But we both know that I did."

Casey stiffened, panic flickering through her eyes momentarily. Derek spotted this immediately, and squeezed her hand gently. He tried to hold her gaze, but she kept looking away.

''What is it, Case?" he asked, wondering why she suddenly seemed to be shutting him out again. "What did I say?"

She chewed on her bottom lip, looking very reluctant about saying anything. He gave her a moment to collect her thoughts, and, after a second, she took a deep breath, and looked up.

"Are you implying that you would hurt me again?" she asked, trying to sound brave, but Derek heard the slight waver in her voice anyway. He felt his heart breaking for her as she continued. "I mean, you seem like you've changed, Derek. But how do I know that for sure?"

"You don't." Derek said, shrugging. She tensed, her eyes shooting back and forth between each of his quickly. He gave her a pleading smile. "You've just got to trust me. You _do_ trust me, don't you?"

She didn't even have to think about it. She nodded, indicating that she did trust him.

"Yeah Derek, I do." she told him. He felt relief shoot through him. "I must be crazy for doing it, because I've got such a good reason not to ... but I do."

"Well then you've got to trust that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you." he said, smiling softly at her. "I've been thinking about that all month. And I wasn't sure, at first. I mean, I knew that I loved you more than I have ever loved anyone, but I wasn't sure that I even trusted myself to have a relationship. But now I know that I'd never do anything like that again. I want forever with you, Casey."

Casey looked away, her hair falling over her eyes.

"You said that last time." she reminded him, her face falling again. This wasn't turning out the way that either of them had anticipated. Derek frowned. "You told me when you proposed to me that you were ready to be with me forever. And then you cheated on me. What's changed between then and now?"

Derek thought long and hard. What _had _changed between the day he had cheated on Casey, and now? He racked his brain, trying to come up with the best way to say how he felt. Finally, he looked up, a pained expression on his face. He gave a tiny shrug, his eyes never leaving hers.

"We grew up." he said, giving a slight laugh. "Correction; _I _grew up. You were already mature enough to handle a relationship, but my priorities were way out of line, and I know that now. I've had to face the consequences for four years now, and I've learned my lesson, Casey. I really have. You don't know how scared I've been lately, thinking that I'm going to have to settle for someone else in the end. You know, something less than love. That scares me, it really does."

"And what scares me is the fact that you ran off on me a month ago." she argued, causing his jaw to stiffen. "Depsite what you may think, Derek, you were running from your feelings. And that's really not the most responsible-"

"I wasn't running from my feelings, Casey, I was running so that we didn't have to go through the exact same thing as we did the last time. I know you think that you got the full blow of it when I cheated on you, but dammit, Case, it killed me too."

Casey didn't react well to this statement, something that Derek picked up on immediately. Her jaw was set firmly in an angry sort of posture, and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, Der, it must have been really hard to jump into bed with that whore you brought home." she said, in mock sympathy. "I'm so sorry I put you through that. How can you even look at me?"

Derek's face fell.

"Casey," he started, but she cut him off, looking away quickly.

"Forget it." she whispered quietly. Derek let silence envelope the room for a moment as he tried to think of something to say.

"I didn't sleep with her." he finally said, after the silence became too much to bear. She looked up, her eyes holding no anger, only sadness.

"I know you didn't." she said, sighing. "But you would have, if I hadn't of came home when I did."

Derek opened his mouth to try and convince her that she was wrong, but he knew it was no use. They both knew what would have happened if she hadn't of showed up that night. He bit his lip and nodded.

"Yeah, I know." she said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her cringe, almost as though she hadn't really believed that he would have done it. He supposed that hearing the actual words come out of his mouth were hard to face.

"I know what I've done, and what we both know I would have done if the situation had turned out differently that night." he said quickly, trying to get through the tough stuff first. "But if you give me a chance, I can show you that I've changed. I'll show you that it's going to be different this time."

Casey was silent, clearly analyzing every word that he'd just said. She looked back up at him, her eyes filled with uncertainty. She shook her head.

"I don't know, Derek." she said, her voice shaking. "I'm scared that it'll turn out like last time."

Derek wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her a bit closer. She tensed within his hold at first, but then relaxed, almost as though she found this comfortable. He knew that he did. He gave her a faint smile.

"It won't." he assured her, his voice laced with confidence. He knew that she was going to argue about it, so he rushed on. "I know you don't believe that now, but dammit, Case, you've got to let me try. I know what I did was out of line, but I think that I ... _we _deserve a second chance. How the hell can you turn that away? We have a chance to be just as happy as we were before all of this happened. Don't you want all that back?"

Casey chewed on her bottom lip nervously, something that she had forgotten always acted as a tease to Derek. He forced himself to look at her eyes, and not at her lips. If this worked out, he'd have plenty of time to kiss her whenever he wanted. Right now, he had to work on getting her back. Derek could practically see the wheels turning in her head as she struggled to make a decision. He knew how much of a planner she was, and he knew that she wasn't one to jump to life changing decisions in a matter of seconds. But right now, he knew that she wanted this to be worked out just as badly as he did. And he knew that she just wanted to be happy for a change.

After what felt like an eternity, Casey reached out and laced her fingers through Derek's cautiously. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and leaned in closer to him. Her eyes were filled with hesitation, but he knew that she had reached her decision once and for all. Her face was so close to his that he could feel her warm breath on his cheek, and he could have sworn that she was going to kiss him. Her forehead pressed against his lightly, and he closed his eyes for a moment, lost in the feeling of how right it felt to be there with her. When he opened his eyes, she brought her free hand up to his head and raked her fingers through his hair.

"We've got to take it slow." she whispered, taking in a shaky breath. Derek ran his hand up and down her back slowly and nervously. Not moving his forehead from hers, he nodded, his heart racing furiously.

"Slow, yeah." he agreed, pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth lightly. She trailed her hand down to his neck and gripped there softly, avoiding the gash that he knew was there as a result of the accident.

"I can't promise anything too heavy at first." she said nervously, almost as though she was scared that she was going to drive him away. "Last month we sort of just sort of rushed things, and I know that it was a mistake to do that spontaneously. I want to get used to having you around again."

Derek nodded, willing to agree with anything that she said at this point.

"It's going to take communication." she said, her voice wavering a bit as he kissed his way down to her neck. She closed her eyes as she tried to continue. "As I s-said, communication... and..." she trailed off long enough to grip his chin and tilt his head back up to where it had been before. He grinned sheepishly at her and pressed his forehead against hers once more.

"Sorry," he whispered, letting his hands return to her hips. He didn't mind; he knew that she was his again now, and he would have all of the time in the world for the physical stuff. Right now, he knew he should listen to what she was saying.

"It'll take honesty, for starters." she continued, as though she was trying to make sure that they were still on the same page. He nodded, and she looked surprised, before moving on. "Patience, dedication, committment, _loyalty..._" she said, emphasizing the last word for effect. He gave a nod again to show that he understood what she was saying, and that he recognized that this meant that he was off limits to all other girls.

"Anything you want; you've got it." he whispered, pure bliss pulsing through his veins at an unimagineable pace. "I can take it as slow as you need. Just as long as this means that we can be together again."

He paused, looking thoughtful.

"Can we?"

Casey's arms were now wrapped around his neck, and she pulled back a little to look at him. He watched her with a mix of apprehension and hope. He was so sure that she was going to feel his heart beating in his chest, he was that nervous. After a moment, a smile broke out on her face. Derek took that as a good sign, and allowed some of his fear to fade away.

"I think we can work something out." she said, the smile never fading from her face. Derek's eyes widened.

"R-Really?" he stammered, his whole body shaking. She bit her lip and nodded, still smiling. Derek just stared at her for a moment. He knew that, any second, he would wake up to Jayden yelling that he was going to be late for soccer practice. He felt a lump rise in the back of his throat as Jayden's face flashed through his mind, but he tried to keep it back. He knew then, that this wasn't a dream. He wasn't sure which emotion was stronger right now. Disappointment that Jayden really was in a coma, or amazement that Casey was taking him back. Knowing that he was probably making Casey nervous right now by not responding, he leaned forwards and pulled her against his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, and his eyes closed tightly in appreciation. He felt her grip on his neck tighten as she hugged him back, and he rather felt as though nothing could ever feel this good again.

He sat there for a good five minutes, just holding her, until she pulled back. He could have sworn that she wiped away a tear or two, but he decided not to bring it up. Quite frankly, he felt like crying too, he was that happy.

"Hey, Derek?" Casey asked, her head still on his shoulder. He had his face buried into her hair, and he really didn't feel like moving, so he didn't bother to pull away from the embrace.

"Mmm, yeah?" he murmered, intoxicated by the scent that had been missing for years now. The wonderful scent that he had always associated with Casey.

"You know that whole ... marriage thing?" she asked, her voice a bit shaky. He nodded, and he knew that she could sense it. She held onto him a little bit tighter. "I think it could work out ... eventually, when Jayden's better, and the baby is born, and... well what I'm trying to say is, yes, Derek. I'd want to marry you, once everything is stable again."

He merely smiled to himself as he remained silent. He knew that she wasn't expecting an answer to that. He was just glad that she was willing to do it eventually. It reassured him that she was serious about their relationship, and he knew that he was ready for this, too. She pulled back slowly, and reached into her pocket, grasping something in her hand. He shot her a confused look, but she opened up her hand, revealing the engagement ring that Derek had given her four years ago. It still looked as good as new, and Derek smiled softly, taking it from her hands.

"Your engagement ring." he chuckled lightly, twirling it between his fingers. He gave a sad sigh, and looked up at her, looking surprised. "I thought you would've thrown it out the second you left my apartment."

"I wanted to." she informed him, shrugging. "I tried. Tons of times, believe me. But-"

''-you couldn't?" he finished for her, a connection surging through his veins that he fully appreciated now. She laughed, and nodded. He held the ring between his thumb, and pointer finger, and squinted to read the enscription.

"Love overpowers everthing." he read, smiling as he remembered the day that he'd gotten that enscription placed there. He locked his gaze with hers, and grinned. "It's true, you know. I think we just sort of proved that."

She nodded, but didn't say anything more to him.

He motioned for her to hold her hand out, and, when she did, he slipped the ring onto her finger, where it belonged now. Bringing her hand up to his face, he kissed it gently.

"A placeholder." he explained, smiling. "Until I get you a new one."

Casey blushed, and shook her head, lacing her fingers with his.

"You don't have to do that, Derek." she assured him. "I love this one."

"I can buy you a new one." he tried, but she shook her head, kissing his lips quickly. When she pulled back, she was grinning.

"That's sweet, Derek; it really is." she said, laughing. "But like you said, this one ... it holds meaning. The enscription sort of ... sums up everything we've been through together."

"If that's what you want." he said, shrugging. "Girls. I'll never understand them. One second you want us to buy you jewellery, and the next, you're refusing it."

She laughed along with him, keeping her hand in his.

Suddenly, a thought occured to him, and he felt a twinge of fear pulse through him. He looked up at Casey, a worried look on his face.

"There _is _one thing." he said, his voice reluctant and hesitant. She raised her eyebrows, and he noticed that she looked a little bit worried. He couldn't blame her. After all he'd done, he half expected her to think that he had found another girlfriend back at home that he had to get rid of, or something like that. But, of course, he hadn't. What he did have to say had nothing to do with another girl. It just had to do with ...

"Jayden," Derek said simply. Casey blinked a couple of times, clearly not understanding what the problem was.

"Well, you don't mind that ... I mean, Jayden, he's my ..." he trailed off, unsure of how to phrase what he wanted to say. Finally, he took a deep breath and said; "I've got to take care of him, Case. Not only because Jeff wanted me to, but because I want to. I need to have him around. For the longest time we've been all each other has, and I can't just leave him. I hope that you can... you know, accept Jayden as a part of..."

"If you're asking me if I have a problem with Jayden, the answer is no." Casey finished for him, looking amused by his inability to phrase a proper question. He relaxed a bit, and she took his hand gently in hers. "Jayden is a part of your life, and if we're going to be together, then he's going to be a part of mine too. And I don't mind. He's a really great kid, Derek, he's-"

She broke off when she noticed that Derek was close to tears at the mention of Jayden. Derek knew that Casey wasn't used to seeing him cry. Not like she hadn't seen him cry at all; because she had. They had gone out for long enough to have seen each other through the best and worst of times, and have seen every side of each others personality. Derek knew that she knew the feeling of wondering if someone you loved was going to die. She had, after all, had to sit there all night and wonder if _he _was going to be alright. And now, he just wanted to know if Jayden was going to be okay.

"He'll be okay, right?" Derek asked in a whispered tone, studying Casey with fear. They looked right into each others eyes for a moment, a silent understanding occuring between the two of them. Realizing what her silence meant, a pained expression crossed Derek's face, and Casey pulled him back into a hug, trying to comfort him. No sooner had his arms wrapped around her waist again, than the door opened, and in walked a tall, black haired man, who looked to be in his mid thirties. He was carrying a clipboard, which he tucked under his arm when Derek looked up at him. He gave the two of them a cheerful smile.

"Mr.Venturi," he said, looking positively upbeat. Derek raised an eyebrow. "I've just got to ask you a couple of-"

"I want to see Jayden." Derek said firmly, finding Casey's hand and gripping it tightly. The smile faded slowly off of the doctor's face, and he gave Derek a pitying expression.

"Mr.Venturi, I really don't think that-"

"Please sir," Derek begged, not tearing his gaze away from the the doctor's. He was shaking, and Casey gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. The doctor looked very much like he wanted to refuse the request, but he must have sensed the need in Derek's voice. Slumping his shoulders in defeat, he sighed and nodded.

"I'll go get one of the hospital wheelchairs," he said. Derek's eyes widened with panic, but the doctor held up a silencing hand. "No worries; it's hospital procedure. You're much too weak to walk all the way there, right now."

Relief washed over Derek, and he sat back to wait for the doctor to bring him a wheelchair. He was going to see Jayden in a few minutes. He knew that it shouldn't scare him to see somebody that he saw every single day, but right now, he was more terrified than ever.

* * *

**So Derek may have been a little OOC in this chapter, with the emotions, but considering the fact that he's twenty five in this, and is faced with losing someone he considers his child, I guess it makes sense. I hope so, anyway. **


	21. Reactions

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Reactions**

The hospital was strangely quiet. Every other visit to the place, to Derek's memory, had been hectic with dozens of people hustling and bustling around. But today was different. Maybe it was because it was seven thirty in the morning. Maybe it was because he was in the Intensive Care Unit, instead of the usual emergency treatment wing. Or maybe he was just too scared to notice anything that was going on around him.

Jayden, having been taken to the hospital at the same time as Derek, was not to be transported to a childrens hospital until his condition was more stable. His room was in the same hallway as Dereks, in the final door on the right. When the doctor stopped Dereks wheelchair in front of the room, he turned to the two of them and sighed.

"Which one of you would like to go in first?" he asked, his eyes darting back and forth between the two of them quickly. Derek tensed, glancing up at Casey. She gave him a comforting look, which relaxed him slightly. He turned back to the doctor.

"I need Casey in there with me." he said firmly, not really caring if he sounded pathetic or needy. He couldn't face this alone.

To his dismay, the doctor shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry, but due to Mr.Walker's condition, we're only allowing him one visitor at a time." he explained matter-of-factly. "Some of the machines that are operating in there are essential to regulating a stable condition. If even one of these wires were accidently dislodged-"

"We'll be careful." Derek cut in desperately.

When the doctor still appeared hesitant, Casey spoke up.

"We'll be careful to avoid all of the wires, I promise you." she said rationally. "Besides, Derek just woke up too. You don't want to leave him by himself, do you?"

Derek had to hand it to her; she spoke a lot more calmly and rationally than Derek did, which appeared to work in her favour. A moment later, the doctor sighed, and nodded in defeat.

"Be extremely careful." he warned them, stepping back and allowing Casey to take control of the wheelchair.

Casey nodded, gripping the handles tightly, and watched until the man had disappeared around the corner.

The second he was gone, she stepped around the wheelchair, and kneeled down to eye level with him. Her gaze softened as she recognized the fear that he knew was in his eyes. Reaching out, she smoothed his hair back off of his face, letting her hand trail down to rest lightly on his neck.

"You okay?" she asked softly, concern clear in her eyes.

Derek didn't respond.

"Derek, I know you're scared right now, but so is he." she reminded him. His eyes closed briefly as he tried to shut everything out. "He needs you."

"It's hard." he got out, his voice harsh and rough. She winced at the pain that was expressed in those two words, but nodded, acknowledging that he was right.

"I know its hard, Derek. Trust me, I've been through it. Do you think it was easy for me to sit here with you all night, wondering if, at any given moment, the machines would start beeping like crazy, and I'd lose you?"

Derek looked her straight in the eye, and he knew then that she had been through hell and back that night. He leaned forwards, enveloping her in his arms slowly. She instantly responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder. He closed his eyes tightly in appreciation, loving the feeling of her body wrapped tightly in his arms, her skin against his, and the sensation of her hair brushing against his cheek. He held her for a full minute, well aware that no words were being spoken, but also knowing that, right now, none were needed. They both fully understood and appreciated the emotion that was coursing through their bodies at the moment; love.

"I love you." he whispered against her ear, gently. He managed to smile slightly, taking delight in the fact that he was allowed to tell her that now, whenever he wanted.

"I love you too, Derek." she said softly, holding him even tighter. "You had me so scared, earlier. I thought that I'd lost you, and that my last words to you had been for you to stay out of my life."

He allowed himself to pull back far enough to look her in the eye. He reached up with one hand, and brushed away a few tears that had escaped from her eyes. He let the hand rest n her cheek, and he managed to give her a faint smile.

"I'm never leaving you." he assured her, gripping her chin urgently. "Never, I swear."

She relaxed a bit then, as though she had needed reassurance that he really was here to stay this time.

"I'm glad to hear it." she said, kissing his cheek gently.

She took a deep breath and straightened up again.

"Alright, are you ready?" she asked, knowing that he was a little more relaxed than he had been before.

He winced, glancing at the closed door in front of him. He was afraid what he might find behind it. He was so used to seeing Jayden as an upbeat and friendly bundle of energy, but he knew that he wouldn't find that same kid behind this door. Jayden wouldn't be upbeat or friendly, because he wasn't even concious anymore.

Derek was still debating the issue in his mind when he felt Casey's hand slip into his own.

He glanced down at their entwined hands, before looking back up at her. She offered him a sympathetic smile, and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Come on." she coaxed, using her calmest voice. "I'll come in with you."

That was all he needed. Summoning up all of his courage, he hoisted himself up, trying to keep himself balanced, despite his shaking legs.

Just as he reached for the doorknob, the door swung open, revealing a tired looking Cole.

Upon seeing Derek, he offered a weak smile.

"Derek, hey." he said, relief plastered across his features. "You're awake."

"Yeah." Derek said, trying to keep his eyes focused on Cole, and not the room behind him.

"How are you?" Cole asked, reaching behind him and pulling the door closed. He studied Derek with concern.

"I'm fine." Derek lied, ignoring the pounding headache that was dominating his head.

"Glad to hear it." Cole said, giving him a quick nod. His eyes travelled to Casey, and he softened.

"Case, are you okay?" he asked, recognizing the signs of having been through a rough night. Her hair was slightly messed up, her eyes were only half open, and she looked like she could fall asleep at any given second.

Casey, however, shrugged, and leaned against Derek's shoulder, causing his arm to wrap instinctively around her waist.

"I'm okay." she assured him, glancing up at Derek. "At least, now I am."

Cole glanced from his best friend, to Derek, before letting a knowing smile grace his lips.

"You two..." he started, motioning between the two of them. "You're back together. aren't you?"

They both nodded, smiles on their faces, despite the situation. Cole grinned happily at them.

"Well congratulations, then." he said, leaning up against the wall casually. "It's about time you two got it right. It's too bad it took a near fatal accident to fix things, though."

Upon mention of the accident, Derek remembered why he was out of his room in the first place, and tensed.

"How's Jayden?" he asked, trying to sound brave, but failing miserably.

An unreadable expression crossed Cole's face, and he shrugged.

"See for yourself." he said.

Before Casey or Derek could even begin to question his statement, he had brushed past them, and was walking down the hall, whistling to himself. Derek shot Casey a curious look, but all she could do was shrug.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door, preparing himself for whatever was on the other side.

His breath caught in his throat when he saw Jayden. His arms and face were both covered with bruises and cuts, and his right cheek was slightly swollen. He was hooked up to countless wires and machines, many of which were making annoying, repetitive, beeping sounds. But Derek wasn't concentrated on that. The only thing that he was registering, was that Jayden's eyes were open.

"Jayden." he breathed out, relief flooding through his body.

Before the younger boy could respond, Derek had crossed the room a fast as he could, and, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to be a hugging person, he wrapped his arms around Jayden gently, trying to avoid putting pressure on either of their wounds.

"Thank God." he murmered, closing his eyes tightly in appreciation. Relief was pulsing through every vein in his body, calming him slowly. He hadn't realized until now how much he needed Jayden. The kid had kept him strong, and had given his life a purpose. Without Jayden to take care of, he would still be living his life in the most slack way imagineable. He would still be out getting drunk every weekend, and slacking off on work throughout the week. With an eight year old to raise, however, he had been forced to get his act together and learn some responsibility. And, without Jayden, he never would have returned to London this summer. Without Jayden, he wouldn't have gotten Casey back.

"Are you okay?" he asked, letting the kid lie back down in his bed again.

Jayden's eyes were barely opened, and Derek wanted to cry at the pain that he was clearly in as he nodded slowly, looking thoroughly confused. Worry crossed Derek's features, and he rushed on.

"Can you talk?" he wondered, paling.

Jayden nodded again.

"Y-Yeah." he croaked, his voice sounding even weaker than Derek's. "It just ... it...it takes a...lot of...energy."

Derek nodded, understanding what he meant. It had been difficult for him to speak at first, too.

"Has a doctor been in to see you since you woke up?" he asked, remembering how serious the doctor had been about Jayden's condition only moments before.

Jayden shook his head, and Derek instantly turned to Casey.

"Case, can you get someone?" he asked, his eyes softening when she smiled at him.

She nodded.

"Sure, Der." she said, placing her hand on the doorknob.

She turned to leave, but stopped when she heard Derek whisper;

"I'm so, so, sorry."

She looked over her shoulder, watching as a very weak Jayden stared at Derek apprehensively. After a moment, he looked from Derek to Casey, before speaking up.

"Did you ... work things out?" he asked, struggling for breath between each word. He sounded vaguely hopeful, despite how weak he was. "You and Casey; did you w-work it all out?"

Derek glanced at Casey, and motioned fo her to come back. Without hesitating, she obeyed, crossing the room, and taking a seat next to him on Jayden's bed. Sharing a quick smile, they entwined their hands, and looked back at Jayden, nodding.

"Yes, we worked everything out." Casey informed him with a smile on her face.

Jayden grinned as best as he could, his half open eyes brimming with happiness.

"D-Does that mean that Derek's not ... not gonna be boring anymore?" he asked innocently.

Derek scowled, trying to act like he wasn't embarassed by Jayden's words. Casey, however, found it quite funny, and glanced down at him while she laughed. He grinned sheepishly and looked away, still blushing.

"I was ... distracted." he dismissed, shrugging his shoulders.

Deciding to get the serious stuff out of the way, he looked at Jayden again, preparing himself to get everything out of the way.

"I'm marrying Casey, Jay." he said, squeezing her hand gently, his heart warming at the sound of those words. "That means she's going to be ... living with us, and she's going to be taking care of you, too. There are going to be a lot of changes, but we're going to help you adjust. Do you understand that?"

Jayden immediately nodded, catching onto what Derek meant by this.

"I understand."

"Good." Derek said, noticing that Jayden seemed to be getting weaker and weaker by the second. He tried to hurry, so that he could get someone to come in and take a look at him. "Are you okay with all of this? I know it's a big change, but-"

"I'm fine with it." he assured Derek, stifling a cough, before going on. "I know how much ... this means t-to you guys and everything, and I kn-know you really like her. Besides, I like Casey."

Casey smiled warmly at the boy, no doubt flattered and reassured by his words.

"Thanks, Jayden." she said softly, before nudging Derek, as though indicating for him to finish their news. They still had to tell him the biggest news of all; that he was pretty much going to be a big brother.

"There's one more thing." Derek said, removing his hand from Casey's, and placing it on Jayden's arm reassuringly. Jayden raised an eyebrow, but did not speak. Taking a deep breath, Derek went on, taking Casey's hand again.

"In about eight months, Casey is going to be having a baby." he started, not looking at Jayden. "My ... _our_ baby."

There was silence in the room, as Jayden processed this. Derek registered the silence, but decided not to break it. When Edwin had been born, he had been too young to really understand. But when his parents had told him that he was going to have a baby sister, he had appreciated the fact that they gave him time to think it over. And now, he wanted to allow Jayden that same privilege.

For some reason, the look on Jayden's face wasn't positive anymore, and he suddenly seemed distant from both of them. He stared down at the bed, running his fingers along the hem of the blanket beneath him. Finally, he seemed to gather his thoughts enough to speak.

"So..." he started, sounding uncertain. "You're going to have a kid?" he asked, glancing up at them. They nodded, and he sucked in a deep breath, wincing. He was silent for another moment, before nodding. "Okay."

Derek glanced at Casey, sharing a confused look with her. He could sense that Jayden was not happy about this and, judging by the look on Casey's face, she had noticed this too. She shook her head, indicating that she wasn't sure what was wrong with Jayden, and Derek turned back to him, raising an eyebrow.

"Buddy, you okay?" he asked, knowing that the regular Jayden would've said more on the matter.

Jayden only kept his gaze locked with Derek's for a moment or two, before looking away, and concentrating on his hands.

"Can you get the doctor now?" he asked, his voice quiet, and defeated.

Derek wanted to protest, but he noticed that Jayden was having a lot of trouble breathing, and that he barely seemed able to lift his head off of the pillow. Knowing that he should put Jayden's health first, and talk things out later, he nodded, and stood up, pulling Casey up with him. He sensed that Jayden wanted a moment to himself. Him and Casey walked towards the door reluctantly.

"We'll be back later, I promise." Derek said, smiling at him. "See you, buddy. Someone should be in soon."

Jayden smiled back, nodding his head.

"Thanks, Derek."

With that, Derek and Casey left the room, with Casey pulling the door closed gently behind her. Derek returned to the wheelchair, knowing that, if he didn't, he would have absolutely no energy left by the time he got down the hall. Both of them wanted to question Jayden's negative reaction to the baby, but they knew that, right now, it was more important to get him the medical attention he needed. So Casey pushed the wheelchair down to the end of the hall, and, together, they informed the doctor that Jayden had woken up. The doctor rushed off down the hall to go check up on Jayden, and Casey returned Derek to his room, helping him back into his bed. When he was settled, she sat down next to him, giving him a curious expression.

"Was it just me, or did Jayden seem ... opposed to all of this?" she asked, placing a hand gently on her stomach, where they both knew the baby was concealed. Derek placed his hand over hers on her stomach, and nodded.

"I know what you mean." he agreed, nodding. "He seems fine with the wedding, and with us being together. He just seems to have an issue with the baby."

"I don't understand why." Casey said, frowning slightly.

He was about to respond, when the door opened, and the same doctor came into the room, looking confused.

"Did you take Jayden with you?" he asked, sounding hald angry, half bewildered.

Casey and Derek shook their heads, unsure of why the doctor would even ask them such a thing.

"No." Casey informed him truthfully, raising an eyebrow. "Why would we?"

"Because he's gone." the doctor said, looking all of a sudden panicky.

Derek and Casey both froze in their spots, similar looks of shock etched onto their faces. Casey could feel Derek's hand shaking, so she took it gently in her own.

"He's what?" Derek asked, trying to sound as calm as possible, but it was clear he was failing terribly. "What did you say?"

"Jayden isn't in his room." he repeated. "I just went in to check on him, and the door was left open, but he wasn't there. The wires that were hooking him up to the machines have been disconnected, too."

Derek tried to speak, but nothing was coming out right, anymore. Casey sensed this, and spoke for him, though she was really no calmer than him.

"Aren't there cameras in the hallways?" she asked, trying to think logically. The doctor nodded. "Can you check those, and try to see where he went?"

The doctor nodded again, looking extremely concerned.

"Of course." he said, turning to leave.

Before he could even step outside the door, Derek found his voice, and called after him.

"Wait!" he called, his voice sounding panicked. The doctor turned, raising an eyebrow. "If Jayden isn't hooked up to those machines anymore ... how long can he ... I mean, how important are they to keeping ..."

The doctor's eyes were filled with hesitance and worry as he answered.

"Truthfully?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Derek nodded, gulping hard. The doctor frowned. "Not very long." he admitted, ignoring the way Casey and Derek's faces fell. "He may be awake, but he was hooked up a ventilation machine to help him breathe, and to intravenous lines. And that's just the most important ones. There are a lot of things that he needs right now, that he won't be getting without the proper care. We need to get him back as soon as possible."

"Or..." Casey said, her eyes widening.

The doctor gave them one last grave look, before taking a deep breath and responding.

"If Jayden doesn't get hooked back up to those machines soon, he doesn't stand a chance."

With that, he closed the door behind him, leaving Casey to deal with the mess Derek had just turned into. She knew that it was only going to take a minute or two for Derek to turn into his stubborn self, and demand that he be able to go and look for Jayden himself. He was weak, but Casey knew he'd find the strength for this. The look in his eyes suggested that he wasn't going to rest until Jayden was back.

* * *

**The end of this chapter may seem a bit rushed, but I got stuck. Anyway, review. There's only a few more left, now. ) **


	22. Promises

**Sorry for keeping you waiting. I think you guys finally deserve some news on Jayden. Glad everyone loves him so much. This is the second last chapter to this story, just to let you know. Anyways, read and review, my friends. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Promises**

"Get me my jacket."

"Derek."

"I need to go find him."

"Derek, please."

"God dammit, Casey! Just give me my fucking jacket!" Derek yelled at her, his eyes narrowed angrily.

Hurt flashed across her eyes, and he softened a little bit, leaning forwards to kiss the tip of her nose gently.

"I'm sorry, baby." he said calmly. "I didn't mean to yell at you. But I really need to go find Jayden."

"Derek, please." she whispered fearfully, looking as though she wanted to cry. "You're really weak right now, and-"

"I promise if I get too weak, I'll let you take me back." he assured her, kissing her forehead softly. He searched her eyes desperately. "Casey, please. I have to do this. If they don't find him in time ... and all I did was sit here and wait, I'll never forgive myself. I need to at least try."

She still looked hesitant, but she must have sensed the urgency in his voice, because, the next second, she handed him his jacket, and helped him shrug into it. She took his hand tightly in hers, allowing him to grab his sneakers from the corner of the room, and take a deep breath.

"You're sure you want to do this?" she asked, reluctance clear in her eyes. She studied him carefully. "Derek, you can barely walk. You're supposed to be getting rest, even if your not hooked up to the machines anymore. Please, are you positive?"

"I need to do this." he said, and started walking towards the door with her hand clasped tightly in his. She still didn't look too crazy about the idea, but followed him, anyway.

Together, they made their way down the hall towards the room where the doctor had been before.

"Mr.Venturi." he said, narrowing his eyes uncertainly. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

"I'm helping to find Jayden." was all he said, glaring at the doctor, as though daring him to defy him. Before the doctor could say anything more, Derek rushed on. "Did you check the cameras, yet?"

The doctor looked very much like he wanted to argue with Derek, and make him go back to bed, but he must have sensed that this would be a waste of time, because, next second, he had shrugged, and moved on.

"He was shown leaving his room about four minutes after you left there." he said, glancing at the monitors again. "And then, he was caught on another camera ten minutes later leaving the back entrance of the hospital.''

"He _left_?" Derek asked, his voice getting weaker and weaker by the moment. Casey sensed this, and winced, but let him continue. "God dammit, the kid doesn't know what he's doing to me."

"You can lecture him later." the doctor dismissed. "Right now, we need to find him. He can't have gotten too far. He only left here half an hour ago, and he's weak."

So they split up, the doctor going off to search the front of the hospital, and Casey and Derek going around the back. When they got to the back door, Casey stopped him, staring into his eyes seriously .

"I want you to promise me you'll tell me if you need to go back." she said, gripping his chin urgently with her free hand. "Promise me, Derek."

"I'll tell you." he said, making sure not to say the word promise in that sentence. He wasn't too sure he'd be sticking to his word. He loved Casey, and he did care about his health, but he had to find Jayden. He knew that he was weak, and that he had exerted most of his energy by getting up and going to Jayden's room in the first place, but this was important. Gripping Casey's hand tighter, they made their way out the back door, and onto the parking lot. Derek was disappointed to find it was raining. Rain wasn't going to help them at all. Besides, he didn't exactly think rain was what Jayden needed while running away.

"Jayden!" Casey called out desperately, raising her free arm over her head to block out the rain. Derek noticed this, and pulled her hood up for her, shielding her from the rain. She muttered a quick, 'Thank's, before turning and calling out to Jayden again.

"Jay!" Derek called along with her, as they peered in between the cars on the back parking lot. There were rows upon rows of cars, something that Derek knew would not work in his favour. He felt panic rising in his throat as he noticed that the parking lot was extremely close to a busy road, up ahead. A road filled with early morning traffic. What if Jayden had tried to cross that road? He probably wouldn't be able to go very fast, and that could mean he could get hit. He was a strong kid, to survive an accident like theirs, but Derek knew he wasn't strong enough to survive two major accidents in one day.

He peered through every single row of cars, but he didn't find Jayden. He was soaked, at this point, but he didn't really care.

As he stared up at the road again, something else caught his eye. To the left of the parking lot, there was a small patch of trees, almost like a mini-forest. And, somehow, he knew. That was where Jayden would have headed.

He let go of Casey's hand, and ran off towards it. He heard Casey calling after him, but he didn't stop. Not until he got to where he was going. He stopped at the edge of the trees, and placed his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. His head was practically spinning from all the energy he was exerting, but he knew he was okay. He heard Casey come to a stop behind him, and she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Derek, what are you-"

She never finished her sentence, because she seen what Derek had just spotted. Lying some twenty five feet ahead of them, slumped down against a tree, was Jayden. From where they were standing, neither could tell if his eyes were open.

It only took a second for him to dash towards Jayden, stumbling over tree roots and rocks to get to him. He fell to his knees next to him, his heart skipping a beat at the sight of his closed eyes.

"Jay!" he hissed frantically, gripping the boy's shoulders urgently. He shook him lightly, his entire body shaking with fear. "Jayden! Jay, come on, please wake up."

The boy stirred, but didn't open his eyes. Derek wasn't sure whether he should take the movement as a good or bad sign. Nonetheless, he continued to say Jayden's name desperately, hoping it would eventually wake him.

"Come on, bud." he said frantically, trying to shake him enough to wake him up. "Get up; please! Open your eyes!"

Jayden was soaking wet, and his hair was practically plastered to his face. He was still cut up and bruised from the accident. But Derek didn't care about any of the cuts and bruises, as long as he could get Jayden to wake up. He pulled Jayden into his arms desperately.

"Jay!" he begged pleadingly, one last time.

Jayden stirred then and, miraculously, his eyes opened. Derek's eyes widened, and he pulled back from Jayden a little bit.

"Can you hear me?" he asked, praying that the answer was yes. "Answer me, buddy. Can you hear what I'm saying?"

Jayden slowly nodded, his eyes only half open.

"It's c-cold..." he got out, his whole body shivering as the rain splashed onto his skin.

Derek instantly shrugged out of his jacket, and wrapped it around Jayden, not really caring that he was now freezing. Jayden was more important.

"D-Derek, I-" Jayden tried to say, but Derek cut him off.

"Don't say anything." he instructed, lifting Jayden up into his arms, and standing. He looked down at him. "I'm getting you to the hospital, and back in bed, before you say another word."

"Derek, maybe I should carry him." Casey suggested, seeing Derek's shaking form.

Derek considered arguing, but knew that Casey was right. He had barely been able to get across the parking lot on his own; he shouldn't be supporting the weight of someone else. He nodded, and passed Jayden carefully to Casey, who secured him in her arms before motioning for Derek to follow.

"Come on." she said, rain dripping off her body consistantly. "Let's get you guys back to the hospital. You okay, Jay?"

Jayden nodded, but let his head fall back onto her shoulder weakly, his eyes shutting again. Derek shot Casey a worried look, and she frowned.

"C'mon." she said, taking a few steps towards the parking lot again. "Let's go."

- - - - -

"You're very lucky you find him as soon as you did." Dr.Keyes said, shaking his head gratefully. "Another ten minutes, and I don't think we would've gotten him back in time. His oxygen levels were dangerously low."

Derek nodded, not really wanting to hear how close Jayden had come to death. He wrapped the blanket that the nurse had brought for him tighter around his body, and looked back up at the doctor, still shivering.

"Thank you, Dr.Keyes." he said, smiling sincerely. "For everything."

The doctor merely smiled, and turned to leave, closing the door behind him. Derek turned back to Jayden, his eyes full of appreciation and relief, yet anger and confusion. Jayden must have caught sight of this, because, hard as it may be to tell against his already flushed cheeks, he was blushing.

"Derek, I-"

"What were you _thinking_?" he cried, standing up, and glaring down at Jayden. Jayden opened his mouth to respond, but Derek cut him off. "I'll tell you what you were thinking! You were thinking that you wanted to make me worried sick, that's what you were thinking! Or maybe you were thinking one near death experience per day isn't enough, huh? Is that it? Or, here's a winner. Maybe you weren't thinking at all! Which is it, Jay?"

Jayden's eyes had gone wide with shock, but he somehow found it in him to answer.

"I hate it when you yell." he said, wincing.

Derek raised an eyebrow, taking a step closer.

"You hate it when I yell, do you?" he challenged, mock sympathy on his face. "Well personally, I hate it when my kid runs off on me and nearly gets himself killed. I feel like I've got a suicidal eight year old on my hands. You're not supposed to hit this stage for another eight years or so!" he said, then paused. "Scratch that. Just... Jesus _Christ_, Jayden! I don't know how you could have done something like this."

Jayden blushed and looked away, clearly ashamed of his actions. Casey, who was sitting quietly on the windowsill and observing the situation, suddenly spoke up, a lot more calmly than Derek. Derek once again had to thank her natural maternal instinct because, at the sound of Casey's gentle voice, he looked up, looking slightly less fearful.

"Jay, you want to tell us why you ran off earlier?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Jayden bit his lip, apparantly lost in thought. Casey shot Derek a look, that clearly meant she wanted him to stay calm. Derek nodded, and glanced down at Jayden.

"I won't be mad, buddy, I promise." he said, trying to keep his voice clear from all anger. "I just want to know why you left."

Jayden took a deep, shaky breath, trying to summon up enough energy to explain himself. Derek could tell that this was very difficult for him, but was proud of him when he managed to speak, even if his voice sounded terribly weak.

"I don't want to leave." he admitted, his voice shaky. Both Casey and Derek raised an eyebrow at him, confused. He rushed on, still struggling for breath. "I feel like you're the only family I've got and... now you're going to make me leave."

"Make you _leave_?" Derek repeated, confused. "What would give you that idea, Jay? We're not making you go anywhere."

"Won't you want to... I don't know, have a real family?" Jayden asked, tears in his eyes. "That's what all the kids at school have told me, you know. They tell me that I don't have a real family, and that one of these days you'd get married and have your own kids and no one would want me, anymore."

"Who said that?" Derek asked angrily, his eyes flashing with an emotion that frightened the other two. "Whatever they said, they were wrong. Me and Casey, we aren't making you go anywhere, bud. You're going to come home with us, as soon as you're better. What would make you think otherwise?"

Jayden looked immensely relieved, but shrugged.

"I just thought that... once the baby was born, you'd want to have a real family."

Derek's heart softened at that, and he leaned down, studying Jayden with respect and affection. He reached out, and gripped his chin, his face very serious.

"We _are_ a real family, Jay." he assured him, no hesitance in his words whatsoever. "Me and you have always been family. And just because Casey and the baby are coming into our lives, it doesn't mean I'll care about you any less. What was it said to me earlier...?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Jayden shrugged. "Last night. You said that you considered me..." he trailed off, wanting Jayden to finish.

"...as much of a father as my Daddy was." he finished quietly, giving Derek a sad sort of smile.

Derek nodded.

"And that means that I will consider you as much of a son as mine and Casey's kid, okay?" he said, gripping Jayden's shoulder lightly, as not to put pressure on any cuts.

Jayden looked up, wincing, as though he was afraid Derek was lying.

"You promise?" he said quietly, sounding uncertain. Derek nodded, and Jayden turned to Casey. "What about you?"

Casey looked surprised that Jayden had asked her input, but she hurried to answer, nonetheless.

''Me?" she asked, taking a step away from the windowsill. "Oh, well... I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better, and... you're a part of Derek's family, so...you're going to be a part of mine, too. And I'm sure we'll get along perfectly, if you want us to."

Jayden grinned, and nodded.

"I'd like that." he said, smiling. The smile instantly wiped off his face as he rushed to ask his next question. "And... what about... the baby?"

"What about it?" Derek asked, uncertain. "It's due in eight months or so, if that's what you're asking."

Jayden blushed, and uncertainty crossed his features once more.

"That's not what I meant." he admitted quietly, shaking his head. "I meant... what happened to my Mommy... it won't happen to Casey will it?"

Derek glanced up at Casey, wincing. He didn't want to imagine something like that happening to her. But he knew the chances were slim, and therefore, shook his head at Jayden.

"What happened to your Mom... it happens, bud. Sometimes those sorts of things happen when someone is having a baby. But just because it happened to your mother, doesn't mean it will happen to Casey. The chances are very slim."

Jayden didn't look totally reassured, but he nodded anyway.

"So does this mean I'm going to be a big brother?" he asked, sounding a bit excited now.

Derek laughed, and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess it does." he said. "And you know what that means? That means that you've got to set a good example, now. You've got to be a role model. And good role models don't run off without telling anyone, right?"

Jayden rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"Right." he agreed.

"So it won't happen again?" Casey asked, catching onto what Derek was trying to accomplish.

Jayden looked from Derek to Casey, before nodding once more.

"I promise." he said, sighing. He grinned at the two of them. "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

**So the characters seemed a little OOC to me in this chapter, but I am keeping in mind that Derek and Casey are twenty five in this, and they have ALL just been through a bit of an emotional roller-coaster ( and that's putting it lightly) . As I said, this was the second to last chapter, so there's only one more left. -tear- A sequel is a very likely possibility. I've basically had the idea of it in my head since pretty much the beginning, and Ive begun to write it. I know how it needs to end, I just need to make sure that I can get there. So that will be decided soon. On another note, check out chapter two of mine and Infidi's story, Things That Go Bump in the Night.**

**On that note, review!! **


	23. Good Things Happen to Those Who Wait

**This takes place on Christmas Day. Duh. And alas, this is the last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own LWD, X-BOX, Taking Back Sunday...or anything, really.**

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Good Things Happen to Those Who Wait**

"Derek can you grab the whipped cream?"

"-and Derek got me an X-BOX!"

"Get your own damn whipped cream!"

"-and Casey gave me a brand new soccer ball. It's really expensive, see?"

"Der-ek!"

"-but I can't play with it yet 'cause of the snow, and Casey says if Derek lets me play soccer inside, he'll be in real trouble. And then she whispered something in his ear, and he said no soccer in the house, ever."

"-come on, Case, I thought you liked whipped cream!"

"-but she also gave me a hockey stick, and Derek's gonna teach me how to play."

"Der_-ek_!"

Casey's annoyed cries were muffled when Derek attacked her with the whipped cream, pressing down on the nozzle to spray it towards her. He shot whipped cream into her mouth and, as an act of retaliation, she charged at him, a spoon covered in cake mix in her hands. She smeared it across his face, but slipped on some misplaced whipped cream, and went crashing to the floor. She grabbed onto his long sleeve shirt to try and remain upright, but just ended up pulling him down on top of her.

Derek laughed, placing the whipped cream can down behind him, out of her reach, and leaned down, propping his elbows up on either side of her. She glared at him, trying to wipe some of the whipped cream off her face, but he grabbed both of her wrists in one hand, and held them high above her head. She gave an annoyed groan, and rolled her eyes, giving up her struggle to get free. lol

"Having trouble, Case?" he asked knowingly, smirking.

"You... are... umph... _terrible_!" she said, trying to push him off of her.

He laughed.

"You love me." he grinned, using his free hand to wipe a bit of the whipped cream off of her face. He licked his fingers clean, and nodded. "Mmm, I like it. Great job, Case."

"It was for the dessert, you reject!" she cried, pulling one of her wrists free, and wiping the whipped cream off her face, smearing it onto his face, and running her fingers through his hair.

He scowled, and rolled off of her, onto his back. He ran both hands through his hair, trying to rid himself of all of the whipped cream. Casey took this to her advantage, and grabbed the whipped cream can, clambering on top of him. She made sure that she had him properly pinned down, before grinning down at him, pressing one hand against his chest, and using the other to point the whipped cream can directly at his face.

"Casey..." he sad slowly, placing a cautious hand on her side, trying to hold her in place. She raised an eyebrow mischeviously, and he put on his most innocent face. "Let's think logically here; you don't want to do that."

"Don't I?" she asked, tapping her fingers suggestively against his chest. She glanced back at the can of whipped cream, and smirked. "Because, right now, it's looking pretty appealing."

"You don't want to mess up my face, do you?" he asked, giving her a cocky smirk. "You love my face! I mean... look at this baby!"

Casey rolled her eyes.

"You know, I was considering letting you off the hook, just because you're my fiance... but since you love yourself so much..."

"Casey... be reasonable."

If he was planning on saying anything else, his words were cut off by the sound of whipped cream being sprayed directly at his face. He tried to defend himself against it, but Casey restrained both of his hands with her free one. All he could do was wait for her to run out of amo.

"C'mon Case, get off!" he begged, tilting his head back and forth with his eyes shut tight. "This isn't even-"

"Coleeeeee, they're doing it again!"

The whipped cream ran out then, and the can started sputtering hopelessly. Casey laughed, and tossed it aside, looking down at Derek's completely white face.

"Geez, Casey." he said, as she let go of his wrists and allowed him to wipe his face.

"Not _again!_"

They both looked up to see Jayden standing in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest, and Cole coming up behind him, shaking his head in dismay as he leaned against the doorframe.

"What kind of example are you two setting for Jayden, seriously?" Cole asked disapprovingly.

"Yeah, what kind of an example are you setting for little ol' me?" Jayden repeated, shaking his head in the same manner as Cole had.

Derek arched an eyebrow.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Jayden dismissed quickly, pulling himself up onto the counter.

"Cole... help me up." Casey said, covered in whipped cream.

Cole pushed himself up off of the doorway and crossed the room, extending a hand to help Casey, who was already five months into her pregnancy, up off the floor. He laughed, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, pausing to wipe the whipped cream off his mouth.

"Sorry." she murmered quickly, grabbing a dishcloth to wipe her face off.

Cole shrugged.

"You know what they say; life's short, eat dessert first." he laughed, before grinning. "Merry Christmas. Sorry we're late; Kal insisted on driving slow to look at all the Christmas lights."

"They were _pretty_, thank you very much." came another voice, coming from behind Cole.

Cole turned, and Casey saw his features soften when Kallie walked into the room, dressed in black dress pants, and a formal looking red sleeveless shirt. He slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek gently, whispering something in her ear that made her blush, and giggle.

"Aren't you two just so cute?" Casey said, smiling at them.

"Yeah, freakin' adorable." came Derek's voice from the messy kitchen floor. "Jay, help me up."

"Are you kidding?" Jayden huffed, leaning his head back against the counter. "I can't lift you."

Derek scowled.

"Are you calling me fat?" he asked, sounding momentarily offended. He shook his head dismissively. "Never mind that. Casey?"

"Don't ask." she said, shaking her head.

He gave her his sexiest looking pout, knowing that he could usually win her over with that. He could only guess that the whipped cream took away from it's usual effect, because she merely laughed, and tried her best to look away.

"Get a life, Der."

"Is that any way to be treating the father of your child?" he asked, scowling. "Cole, that's emotional abuse. Abuse, I say! Help me out here. I'm filing for ... for.. what's the term?"

"Sorry, buddy." he laughed, reaching out a hand to help Derek up. "I'm on holidays. You're going to have to find yourself another lawyer."

"I am _so_ unappreciated." he muttered, wiping the whipped cream from his face, onto his shirt. He was going to have to shower again, anyway. "Jay, hand me a cloth, would you?"

"Do it yourself." Jayden mumbled, yawning.

Derek raised an eyebrow, taking a step towards the boy.

"Say that again... this time keeping in mind that you've got no weapon, while I'm covered in whipped cream just looking for a new home."

Jayden froze, watching as Derek got closer to him.

"You wouldn't." he said warningly, backing up against the counter cautiously.

"Oh, but I would." Derek smirked.

And with that, he scooped a handful of whipped cream off of his clothing, and made a mad dash towards Jayden, who jumped off the counter, and tore off into the living room, with Derek running after him.

"Don't kill each other!" Casey called out after them, before waving her hand dismissively and attempting to drown out their yelling by starting up a casual conversation with the other two.

- - - - - -

"Marti, we're sticking to two colors in your hair at once, and that's final." George was saying, trying to get off the topic of hair dye, and back to the Christmas dinner.

"But Dad!"

"No!" he sighed. "End of discussion."

Frowning, he turned to Casey and Derek, a look of mock sympathy on his face.

"I hope you know what you're getting yourselves into." he noted, nodding towards Casey's rounded belly. "You've got about eighteen years of this ahead of you."

Casey laughed, sharing a small smile with Derek, who winked at her discreetly, and turned to talk to Edwin again. The table was buzzing with activity. Everyone had been invited to Casey and Derek's relatively new home for Christmas dinner.

They had only moved in about a month before Christmas, after deciding that neither Derek or Casey's apartment was big enough for all of them, especially with a baby coming. So they had packed up, and moved back to London, landing a house not too far from their parent's place. Casey had been working on undergoing a career change. She had immediately been offered another position at a law firm nearby when they moved, but she had politely declined, and was now taking online courses in English literature, hoping to become a writer. She knew that she would be requiring a year or so off to take care of the baby, anyway. So she had just decided to persue one of her other passions, and make an attempt at writing. Derek hadn't had any problems with his job, seeing as he was running his own film company. All he'd had to do was rent out a new location for his studio, and move.

The baby was due to arrive sometime in April, and Casey and Derek were planning on getting married that following summer. Derek had proposed the idea of getting married before the baby was born, but had instantly realized this was a mistake. Casey had ranted for two days about how fat she would look in a wedding dress, and that Derek was being insensitive just because he could sit there and stuff food into his mouth without getting fat. He had finally managed to calm her down by suggesting that they have a summertime wedding, but had learned not to say anything that would trigger her oversensitive pregnancy hormones again. They were planning on adopting Jayden once everything had settled down a bit, most likely when Derek's temporary gaurdianship had run out.

For Christmas dinner, their entire family had dropped by, bringing presents. Along with them had been Cole and Kallie, now officially a couple again. They had worked out their issues, though it had taken a while, and were now just as happy as they had been before, with the occasional argument. Nobody was perfect, of course.

Casey smiled, before draining her glass, and pushing her chair back and getting up. She picked up her glass and pushed her chair in.

"I'll be right back." she informed everyone, before exiting the room quietly.

A moment later, Derek came into the kitchen behind her, pulling the sliding door closed, and smirking at her.

"Hey." he said, grinning as he took a step towards her.

She grinned back, and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his forehead lightly.

"Hi."

"I feel like I haven't seen you all day." he murmered, pressing a soft kiss to her lips, before trailing them down to her neck. She giggled, and tilted her head back a bit.

"You mean apart from our food fight in the kitchen this morning?" she suggested, her hands spread out across his back. "I know."

"Miss me?" he asked, aligining his face with hers, and smirking suggestively.

She rolled her eyes.

"Maybe just a little bit." she sighed, grinning at him, and covering her lips with his for a moment. "Enjoying your dinner?"

Derek nodded.

"You bet. It's great to have a woman who can cook. It's the finest quality in a woman."

Casey raised an eyebrow, and Derek instantly rushed to continue.

"Er, among other... sparkling personality traits..." he added, blushing. "Sense of humor, good looks, kind-hearted... forgiving?"

Casey rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I get your point." she sighed, grinning. "You need to be nicer to me, though. I'm pregnant. I have the right to overreact to every little thing you say... and I will."

"I noticed." he said, realizing that this was a bad choice of words at the very last second. She scowled. "Er... I mean... oh give me a break, would you? I'm a guy. We aren't the brightest of creatures."

"I noticed." she mimicked, pouting.

Derek smirked.

"You look incredibly sexy when you pout, did I ever tell you that?" he said, in hopes of cheering her up. She didn't appear to be completely forgiving, but he thought he saw her blush a little. He grinned, and brushed a hand gently against her cheek.

"Smile; it'll do wonders." he suggested happily. "Ronald McDonald smiled all the time, and look how long he's been around."

She laughed.

"You're a freak." she commented, rolling her eyes at him. He pouted. "A very cute freak. _My_ cute freak."

"Always." he grinned, pulling her closer to him, and brushing a strand of hair off of her forehead, tucking it carefully behind her ear. He smiled softly. "I promise."

"Always?" she whispered, pressing her forehead up against his, and letting her eyes connect with Derek's.

He nodded, kissing her lips gently, before pulling back and smiling.

"Always and forever."

She had just leaned in to kiss him again, when the sliding door was swung open, and Marti stepped in, rolling her eyes at the two of them.

"Would it kill you guys not to skip dinner to make out at least _one_ day out of the entire year?" she asked, stepping into the kitchen, and closing the door behind her.

Casey pulled back from Derek, wiping her mouth sheepishly. She blushed, and looked away.

"Sorry, Marti." she dismissed, leaning back against the counter behind her. Derek slipped his arm around her waist, holding her against his side as he ran a hand through his hair, watching as his younger sister fumbled through the cabinets and drawers for something.

"What are you looking for, Smarti?" he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

She scowled.

"Derek, I'm fifteen." she reminded him, rolling her eyes at her brother's childish nickname. "You don't have to call me that anymore."

"You called me Smerek when I was fifteen." he dismissed, shrugging. "I think I have the right to call my little sister something cute."

"Ugh." she groaned, turning away again, and retrieving a roll of paper towels from the drawer. She turned back to Casey. "Make sure he doesn't stick that kid with a nickname, would you?"

"I can't make any promises." she sighed, laughing at the annoyed look on Derek's face. She ruffled his hair. "Cute nicknames is a subtle sign of being a complete softie."

He scowled, ducking away from her.

"It is not." he argued, placing one hand behind him on the counter, and pointing a finger at his younger sister. "You. Go finish your dinner."

"But I-"

"Finish your dinner or else I'm not giving you the totally awesome Christmas gift I bought for you." he said warningly, before mumbling; "Not like you deserve it now."

Marti ignored the last part, and nodded hurriedly, darting off into the dining room again, the door sliding shut behind her. Derek looked over at Casey.

"You sided with my little sister over me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I should cut you off, is what I should do."

"Go ahead." she said, shrugging. "I'm not stopping you."

"Maybe I will." he threatened teasingly, pinning her in against the counter. "Unless, of course, you can give me one good reason why I shouldn't."

Casey smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pulling him closer.

"You do remember that our parents booked us a trip to Hawaii for our honeymoon, right?" she whispered against his ear, smirking when he shuddered. "I don't think I need to tell you what could happen there."

Derek jumped back, clearly afraid that, if he stayed where he was, they'd never leave the kitchen. He grabbed her hand in his, and led her towards the doorway again.

"Dinner, let's go." he ordered, his voice shaky.

Casey laughed.

"You're too easy."

- - - - - -

"You bought me tickets to see Taking Back Sunday in _New York_?" Marti cried, staring up at her brother with wide eyes.

Derek nodded.

"Take that boyfriend of yours with you... what's his name?"

"Mark." she dismissed, looking completely dazed. She stood up, and threw her arms around Derek, nearly knocking him off balance. "Thank you, thank you, _thank you_! You are the best big brother _ever_, Smerek!"

"What am I, a stranger?" Edwin asked, frowning.

Derek laughed.

"So now I'm Smerek again, am I?" he noted, grinning. "Merry Christmas, Smarti."

"How come I don't get to see Taking Back Saturday?" Jayden piped up, plopping down on the couch next to Derek, as Marti ran off to call her boyfriend and tell him the news.

"Taking Back Sunday, Jay." Casey corrected him, smiling. "Concerts aren't exactly the best place for an eight year old to be. Maybe when you're Marti's age, we'll let you go to one."

Jayden scowled, but remained silent. After a moment, Nora spoke up from across the room.

"So any ideas on baby names, yet?" she asked curiously, taking a sip of her coffee.

Derek wrapped an arm around Casey's shoulders, and shrugged.

"We're going to wait and see what we're having, first." he informed them, as Jayden picked up the controller to his new X-BOX and began to play one of his games. "We're going to find that out next week, and we'll figure that out then."

Nora nodded, before smiling.

"I can't believe you two are together again." she breathed out, shaking her head. "I mean, after the breakup, we thought you'd get back together within a matter of days. But then that turned into four years and... wow."

"You know, you still haven't told us why you broke up in the first place." George reminded them, hope clear in his voice.

Derek glanced over at Casey hesitantly, wanting to allow her the chance to reveal their secret if she wanted to. He knew she hated keeping secrets. She gave him a quick smile, before turning back to their parents, shaking her head.

"What happened back then stays a secret." she told them, trying not to let the disappointed looks on their faces get to her. "It doesn't even matter anymore. All that matters is now."

George sighed, and shook his head at Nora.

"It was worth a try, right?" he asked, and she nodded.

The topic was quickly dismissed, and was not brought up again. Casey and Derek were glad, because they really didn't want to tear open old wounds. They had accepted their past, and they had moved on from it, with a better sense of understanding on their relationship. Sure, they still fought, and sure, they still drove each other crazy, but it was playful. It was a part of their complex and unique relationship. They were together again, and they had never been happier. They say good things happen to those who wait. Well, they had definitely waited, and it had definitely been worth it in the end. They were engaged, they had a child on the way, and they had an eight year old, who they were incredibly proud of. Their family could be called unconventional, and hell, it probably was. Not many other families were as complex as theirs. But they were still a family, and they were proud of it. They knew that they would probably always get under each other's skin, and fight over the stupidest of things, but they also knew that they could always count on each other.

Always and forever.

* * *

**I don't like the last paragraph or so, but it was the best I could do.**

**This has definitely been fun! Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing this story. Seriously, you guys rock. I love you :) As I said, there is most likely a sequel coming soon, as soon as I can figure out the few things I have left to plan. I've already started writing it so... expect it soon! Thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed this story:) **


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